


UNLUCKY

by posiebby



Category: Legacies (TV 2018), Posie - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Jealous!Posie, Jed and Penelope brotp, Penelope loves Josie but so does Hope, Posie AU, Slow-burn kind-of?, star-crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2019-11-21 10:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18140813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/posiebby/pseuds/posiebby
Summary: Penelope is secretly, insanely in love with Josie Saltzman, but can’t act on it because Hope is also in love with Josie.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Excuse my grammatical and spelling errors. I wrote this during 1x14 Posie Depression Hours to cope. I was desperate. I'll be tweeting when I update @posiebby. Let me know what you think!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Penelope's first day and Josie blows her away.

Since the day she was born, Penelope always had the worst of luck. 

Right from the womb, she was never enough. Not for her aristocratic, overbearing parents. Not for her crazy witch coven. Not even for herself. Everyone wanted something from her, needed it in fact, and while she always tried her best to please them, she found herself losing sight of who she was. No matter what she did, Penelope was just plain unlucky.

Today proved to be no different. It was the first day of orientation weekend for new students, such as herself, at the Salvatore Boarding School in small town Mystic Falls. 

She had been on her way to the mandatory campus tour session when she spotted two students, judging by their Salvatore uniforms, suspiciously hidden in the woods surrounding campus, mid-argument. She could feel the anger emitting from the taller, dark-haired boy like waves pulsing intensely. She thought nothing of it and was about to go on her way until she saw him punch the shorter boy with the afro in the face and knocked him to the ground. 

Immediately, Penelope rushed to the pair, casting a quick spell to throw the bully against a tree trunk with a thud. Penelope rushed to the poor boy on the ground, who whimpered and clutched his chest in pain. 

She was about to ask if he was okay, when out of nowhere, a gust of wind picked her up and slammed her against a tree. With a thud, she fell to the ground, struggling to keep conscious. She heard who she assumed was her assailant yell, “MG!”, before her eyes fell shut and she was engulfed in black. 

 

. . . 

 

Josie was having the worst morning of her life. 

She woke up with the biggest migraine of her life, courtesy of the all-nighter she attempted to pull. Lizzie was of no help, scrambling frantically through drawers and boxes in search of her curling iron. Even though she rushed to put on her Salvatore Boarding School uniform, she was still the last to get to the dining hall, meaning all the blueberry muffins were taken. 

To make matters worse, she forgot to give MG his phone charger that she borrowed last night like she promised. But to be fair, she was up all night preparing for orientation weekend. As the headmaster’s daughter, she felt it was her responsibility for the week to go smoothly. Her father had been stressed out about week about the upcoming year and new students. She wanted to make it easier for him so he wouldn’t stress so much. 

The happier her father is, the happier her sister is. And like always, a happier sister proved to make a less stressful semester. 

She must have forgotten about the charger when she was writing up the week’s itinerary. Josie shook her head in dismay. She’d checked his room, but after busting through his doors to only find it empty, she changed course back to the dining hall. 

Still, she had no luck finding him. 

She figured he might have went outside to meet with the incoming students, so she made her way out of the building. Just as she was about to interrogate the nearest person, she spotted a weird ruckus at the edge of the woods in the distance. She watched with panicked eyes as she saw someone, a girl she did not recognize, throw Raf against a tree with magic. 

She sprinted towards the pair and instantly casted a spell to throw the girl in the air against a tree, watching in anger as the girl fell to the ground with a thud. As she approached the scene, she recognized MG on the ground, clutching his chest in pain. 

With a yelped “MG!”, she gathered him in his arm and prompted him up on her lap. 

“Sheesh, can you be a little gentler, Jo?” MG grunted out. 

Apparently, he really was in pain. She figured he’d have healed himself by now, seeing that he’s a vampire. 

“Why aren’t you healing? What happened?”

“Just help me to the infirmary, please? I don’t want to talk about it,” MG replied, already attempting to stand up himself, but failing terribly. 

“Slow down a bit, I’ve got you,” Josie chuckled. She held on to the brown-haired boy tightly before he could fall again and began to make way towards the infirmary. 

She turned around suddenly, remembering something important. 

She’d almost forgotten about Raf, and as she scanned the scene, she found he was nowhere to be found. Perhaps getting a beating from a girl was too much for his doggy ego to handle and ran off to save face, Josie thought. 

She gave the strange girl, whose face was masked by her mane of black hair, one last pitiful glance before turning around and making way to the school entrance. 

Something about the girl deeply unsettled her and she feared what the upcoming year had in store for the boarding school. So much for a less stressful semester.

 

. . .

 

“Wake up, P! Get your lazy ass up!”

Penelope was teetering between black and color, slowly coming to conscious as the annoying voice grew louder and closer. 

“P, I know you can hear me!” the intruder shouted, the feminine voice growing louder than before. 

Penelope was about to open her eyes when she suddenly heard a loud-ass “Wake up, bitch!”, followed by a sharp stinging pain on her cheek.

“Ow!” Penelope yelped, sitting up startled and cradling her bruised cheek with her dirty hands. “Did you have to slap me that hard, Hope?”, she asked incredulously. 

“Would you rather I leave you face first in dirt?” Hope laughed. 

Penelope felt a sudden searing ache in her back remembering she had just been thrown in the air like a rag doll before going unconscious. 

“And apparently, in pain?” Hope remarked. 

“Fuck, my back feels like shit,” Penelope groaned as she shakily stood up from the ground, almost tripping in the process. 

“What even happened? Last I saw you, you were on your way to the tour?” Hope inquired. She’d been on her way to find headmaster Alaric when she overheard a group of students gossiping about some hot, badass witch kicking MG and Raf’s ass near the edge of the woods. 

She had a hunch the badass was Penelope, knowing the girl had a knack for attracting trouble. 

“I don’t know. One moment I’m saving some guy from a bully and the next, I was magically thrown against a tree,” Penelope recalled. 

A massive headache from the impact of the fall was hindering her from remembering the details of the situation. The last thing she remembered was a tall, lean, feminine silhouette rushing towards the woods before she passed out.

“Geez, P. You definitely know how to start off the year. At a new school, nonetheless,” Hope snorted. She dusted the loose dirt off Penelope’s back and sleeves, pitying the white polo shirt and uniform blazer.

“Shut up,” Penelope teased, lightly shoving the tribrid’s shoulder but instantly regretting it as a searing ache shot through her back. “Remind me to mind my business next time”, she gritted through her clenched teeth.

“Wanna go to the infirmary?”

“Nah,” the raven-haired girl shook off the pain. The ache was manageable, and she’d experience worst before anyway. 

She was about to head back to her new dorm room, when she spotted a group of students being herded into the school’s main building. “Shit, the tour,” she chastised herself for yet again, being the victim of such misfortune. 

“Screw it,” Hope shrugged, “I’ve been going here since I was seven. I think I can manage to show you around for a bit.” She hooked her arm through the new freshmen’s, leading the girl off to her favorite spot on campus, the gardens.

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m talking to the popular Hope Mikaelson! I’m swooning,” Penelope scoffed sarcastically, “Like you had anything better to do on a Saturday.”

“Ha. Ha. Anything for my childhood best friend,” Hope smiled up at the green-eyed witch. 

She was happy her childhood friend was finally attending Salvatore, even if it was against her will. While Hope understood the shaky history Penelope had with her parents, she was grateful to them for bringing her back to her. 

She was sure she could tackle anything as long as she had her best friend by her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be tweeting when I update @posiebby. I wouldn't follow me though, my feed is dry. Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jed advises Penelope to keep clear of her neighbors, while Josie asks Hope a favor.

“Classes haven’t even started yet and you’ve already managed to make quite the first impression on campus,” Jed raved. He rounded the corner of the room, and jumped right in front of her as she was piling food on her plate in the buffet line. It was Sunday morning and the breakfast buffet had just opened.

She popped a grape into her mouth, mumbling a confused “What are you talking about?” to the werewolf. 

“Mysterious, hot, bad ass, potential HWIC?” Jed listed off, “Ring a bell?” 

When they reached the end of the line, they proceeded to walk towards the empty end of the dining hall, failing to notice the curious and envious stares aimed at the green-eyed witch. 

They found a nice, secluded spot near the back entrance, away from the chattering mess of the other students. 

“Nope,” Penelope answered, too focused on her delicious looking omelet to care. 

“You really haven’t noticed that people have been staring at you since you entered the dining hall?” Jed inquired. 

He was amused at the fact his little cousin could be so oblivious to her effect on people. It was a trait he envied earlier in their childhood in New Orleans before he realized that all good things come with a flaw. 

Penelope lifted her eyes from her plate to scan the dining hall, “No one is even looking in this direction,” she refuted. 

“That’s because they looked away,” Jed sighed, giving up on his cousin and went back to chewing his bacon. 

“Maybe they’re looking at you, Alpha doggie,” Penelope retorted. “They’re probably just wondering what you’re doing with a freshman and not outside with the pack”. 

She took a bite of her omelet and pointed her fork in her cousin’s direction. “Don’t think Hope didn’t tell me about your popularity,” she laughed, “which I don’t understand”. The memory of a younger Jed prancing around the room crazily in his underwear and cape while they hid from their parents in the basement surfaced her mind and made her smile to herself. He always made an effort to keep her smiling and it was something she never took for granted. 

“Shut up,” Jed chuckled, “if we’re talking about popularity, it’s definitely Hope. Prophesized tribrid’s got chicks and dicks up her ass. Not to mention she’s on the Honor Council this year. She’s hot. She’s got power. I could never compare.”

The raven-haired girl watched as the wolf lowered his gaze to his plate, playing with his food silently. “I see you’ve still got that massive crush,” Penelope mused. She watched as blood rushed to his cheeks, in which he tried to dissipate by coughing into his elbow. 

“A crush? On Hope? Never,” he replied incredulously. It was obvious he was lying. Jed was never a good liar. “Plus, I’m sure she’s got her eyes on someone else by now.”

“Any idea who,” Penelope hummed. 

“Ask her. I’m sure she’ll tell you.”

“Hmm, where is she by the way? She was with me all last night and then bailed this morning.”

“Ah, she’s probably with Alaric training or something. Perks of being the only one of your kind I guess,” Jed shrugged. “You rooming with her in the south wing?”

“Actually no. I’ve got a room to myself in the west wing, thank god. I abhor sharing.”

“You’re telling me. And west wing?” Jed inquired, “Run into any bitchy witches yet? I can name more than a few on that side of campus.”

“Name one,” Penelope urged. 

“Lizzie Saltzman. Headmaster’s daughter. About 5’9’’. Atomic blonde. Totally hot but apain in the ass?”

“Haven’t met her yet, but I’m sure when I do, I’ll pledge my undying allegiance to her,” Penelope scoffed. 

From the sound of it, she’s already met a dozen Lizzie Saltzmans before at her old school. Her mother being one as well. 

She made a mental note to keep away from her neighbors, especially Lizzie Saltzman. She wanted an easy, smooth sailing time here and getting involved in unnecessary drama wouldn’t give her that.

 

. . .

 

“I’m seriously gonna kill her when she gets back,” Josie fumed, “that’s if this doesn’t do it first."

Josie was stalled up in her dorm room, cleaning up the damn mess Lizzie made before she had left for her date with God-knows-who. She angrily hauled a large pile of dirty clothes into her arms, and threw them in the laundry hamper. Apparently, in her haste to leave the dorm, she left a damn storm behind. 

She was unplugging a smoking curling iron in the corner of the room when she heard an  
expected knock on the door. 

She yelled a quick “Come in” over her shoulder before turning her attention to the big ass pile of clothes on her bed, none of which were her own. She heard the door creak open.

“Jesus Christ, what happened here?” Hope chortled, hiding a smile behind her fist. 

“Lizzie Saltzman happened,” Josie huffed. She was growing frustrated with her sister’s inconsideration, but it wasn’t like she had the guts to do anything about it. 

“She knows you hate messes,” Hope sighed, already nearing the girl to help. 

“You know you don’t have to help. I actually called you for something else.”

“It’s all good,” Hope reassured, “anything for you, Jo”. 

If Josie was paying attention to the brown-haired girl next to her, she would have noticed her longing stare. Hope shook her head to rid her of impossible thoughts. Josie Saltzman was definitely not interested in her.

“What’d you need anyway? Sounds pretty serious,” Hope inquired, picking up a wrinkled shirt off Josie’s bed and throwing it into the laundry hamper. 

“If by serious you mean life threatening, yes. I need help figuring out this offensive spell,” Josie explained. She walked to her desk to pick up a ripped page from one of the restricted spell books in her father’s study. “I stole this from my dad while you were both out on that mission on Friday.”

“Josie Saltzman, you bad girl!” Hope gasped. “Wait till he finds out!” she teased.

“Shut up, he’s not going to find out and I told you so you could help me. I want to make sure I’m doing it right so I don’t blow something up…again. If I want my dad to take me seriously, I need to show him how useful offensive magic is for us witches.” 

Josie was determined that defensive magic was not enough. The world was a dangerous place, and she wanted to make sure she was equipped enough to protect herself. 

“Don’t worry, he’ll realize it sooner or later. I promise you,” Hope swore.

She shared the same sentiment as Josie. She also knew she was willing to give the brown-eyed girl anything if it meant it would make her happy. “We can look it over tomorrow during lunch.”

She watched as Josie’s lips broke into a huge grin, crashing her into a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best,” Josie praised. She was so excited and anxious to start already.

“Of course, anything for you, Jo,” Hope breathed contently, drowning herself in the scent of coffee beans and cinnamon rolls.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie and Penelope finally meet.

 

_Sorry, can’t make it at lunch. Your dad pulled me away for the day for an emergency mission. Promise to make it up to you. Dinner tonight? My treat._

Josie read the text message Hope sent her in dismay. She had been looking forward to the meeting since she woke up. While she was disheartened, she figured the lesson could wait another day.

She texted back: _Don’t worry about it, you don’t need to make up anything to me. Just let me know when you’re free tomorrow._

Josie didn’t get a reply until a few minutes later: _Oh, well okay. Tomorrow at lunch should be good. You sure you don’t want dinner?_

 _Yeah, don’t worry about it. I appreciate you trying to help though,_ Josie texted back solemnly.

Tomorrow’s not too far anyway, she thought. She was about to lock her phone screen, thinking the conversation was done, until she felt her phone vibrate in her hand.

_If you’re desperate, I suppose I could ask a friend of mine to help you. She should be free during your lunch period._

Josie was a little skeptical of asking a complete stranger for help, _You sure it’s okay?_

Hope reassured her instantly, _Of course, it’s okay. In fact, if we’re talking about offensive magic, she’s probably the best person to ask. Don’t tell her I said this, but she’s a way better witch than me, courtesy of her crazy coven lol._

 _If you’re sure, then I’m all for it!_ Josie replied, her excitement from earlier today starting to bubble to the surface. If getting help from a stranger was all it took to master the spell, she couldn’t refuse.

_Alright! I’ll text her now. She’ll meet you at the old mill during lunch. Good luck!_

_I appreciate you!_ Josie replied, putting her phone away and heading to her next class. She found herself skipping through the halls with thoughts of newfound magic.

 

. . .

 

“Where is this girl _?”_ Josie mumbled, sparing frequent glances at her wrist, watching the clock hands continue to click away.

She’d been sitting on a couch in the old mill, deep in the forest surrounding the school, waiting patiently for the girl Hope promised would be able to help. Lunch started 15 minutes ago and she was afraid to admit that she was possibly stood up.

She told herself she’d wait 5 more minutes before she’d make her way back to campus in a walk of shame. When 5 minutes rolled by with no signs of anyone showing face, she stood up to walk back in defeat.

 _I guess I’ll have to wait another day,_ Josie sighed.

Just as she was about to take a step toward the mill’s entrance, she heard the distinct sound of leaves being crumpled nearby.

She stood frozen, silently waiting until the sounds inched closer. Then, after a moment of unconsciously holding her breath, she’s met with black. While she instantly noted the girl’s good looks, for some reason, the face in front of her seemed vaguely familiar.

“You Jo? I think you’re expecting me,” Penelope questions hesitantly, raising her eyes to finally meet with hypnotizing brown-eyes.

She lost her breath for a second but immediately covered up her loss of cool, swallowing the nerves that suddenly rise in her belly. She was about to walk closer to the beautiful girl she presumed to be Hope’s friend but she was physically blocked from doing so.

“You’re the girl that hurt MG and Raf,” Josie claimed, nose flaring in anger.

Her hand was sprayed out in front of her to hold the barrier spell up. She had no clue what the girl wanted and she wasn’t about to test her luck.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Penelope contested, quickly casting a spell to dissipate the barrier Josie put up with the flick of her hand.

She gave the girl a devilish wink, “and if you’re trying to keep me away from you, you’re gonna have to use something a little stronger than that.”

Josie stumbled back a step, “Don’t come any closer!” She watched cautiously as the raven-haired girl continued to come closer until her face was mere inches away from her own. 

She was frozen, unintentionally tasting the smell of evergreen and mint on her lips.

“Oh honey, you gonna put up a barrier again?” Penelope scoffed. When Josie didn’t respond, Penelope smiled a little, “Don’t worry, if I wanted to hurt you, I’ve would’ve done it by now. But honestly, who could hurt a teddy bear like you?” Penelope raised a hand up to pinch the girl’s left cheek tauntingly. 

Josie snapped out her trance, frowning as she shoved the shorter girl away from her. Before she could do so, Penelope swiped the ripped spell page out of her hand. 

“Ah, a fire spell,” Penelope read. She read the entire page before Josie was able to swipe it back with a scowl. Penelope smirked, “Whose dorm are we turning to ash?” 

Josie’s eyes narrowed and crossed her arms across her chest, “No one’s room. I’m just trying to make a point to my dad.” She watched as Penelope plopped on the couch, crossing her legs.

“Ah, Hope did mention that part,” Penelope said nonchalantly. All she really knew about the meeting was that one of Hope’s friends needed help with offensive magic, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop teasing the girl.

“Yes, but that’s not all,” Josie explained. “I’m trying to show my dad that our curriculum needs to change. Defensive magic isn’t going to be enough to protect ourselves in the real world. Whether he likes it or not, we need offensive magic.”

“And you figure learning this spell, against the school’s rules, will convince him?”

“Yes,” Josie replies.

Penelope bit her tongue and sat up straighter, “Sounds about right. We gonna get started or what?”

“You still haven’t explained yourself. What did MG and Raf ever do to you? And what did you do to prevent him from healing?” Josie accused. She stood in front of the girl with her hands on her hips, blocking her from leaving.

“First you don’t want me to come closer, now you won’t let me go. You’re giving me whiplash, pretty witch,” Penelope smirked.

Josie blushed against her will, shaking her head a little to rid herself of red-painted cheeks.

When Josie refused to let her guard down, Penelope relented, “I didn’t hurt MG or Raf, whoever they are. I just saw someone getting hurt and did what anyone else would do. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at that wolf boy.”

Josie gave her a puzzled look, “Raf?”

“If he’s the wolf, then yeah, Raf. He was hurting the vampire, not me.”

 Josie was puzzled, “Why would Raf do that to MG though?” It was hard to believe the reserved wolf would hurt his own friend.

Something fishy was going on.

“Beats me,” Penelope shrugged, not paying attention to what the girl was saying, but instead on what she was doing. Her eyes were locked on the girl as she bit her lower lip in confusion. 

She wondered how it would feel to have those lips on her own.

She shook her head of the thought, “But, MG must’ve done something real shitty. Wolf boy was pretty pissed at him.”

 Josie let out a loud sigh, plopping down in the couch next to Penelope frustrated, “What the hell is going on at this school? First, apparently, vampires aren’t healing as fast and then dad and Hope go out on an emergency mission. It doesn’t add up.”    

Josie was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice that Penelope had taken the spell from her grasp. She was about to take another look at the spell, before she registered what Josie had said.

She turned her attention to the distracted girl next to her cautiously, “Your dad?”

Josie looked up at her in confusion, “Yeah, my dad?”

Penelope remembered what Jed had said that morning about Hope being on a mission with headmaster Alaric Saltzman. “Your dad’s Alaric?”

Josie raised her eyebrows, “Yeah…”

“Wow,” Penelope was surprised, having a hard time connecting the dots, “then you’re his daughter?”

Josie wanted to laugh at the girl’s puzzled (and secretly cute) expression, “That was implied when I said dad, yes.”

Penelope wanted to shoot herself.

There goes her smooth sailing semester. It would be _her_ to meet the one person Jed had advised her to avoid the morning of. On the other hand, she was also confused. Hope had said she was meeting a “Jo”. If she remembered correctly, Alaric’s daughter’s name was Lizzie.

“Where’s Jo, then? Hope said I was supposed to meet with her here,” Penelope asked, a glance at her watch telling her there was only 10 minutes left of lunch period. She cringed inwardly, “She’s going to kill me when she finds out I missed it.”

Josie crinkled her nose in amusement, “I am Jo.” 

“No…you’re Lizzie, I think,” the raven-haired girl argued hesitantly.

“I think I would know what my name is? And you’re confusing me with my sister. How can you mix us up?? We may be twins, but we look nothing alike.”

“Twins?!? Wasn’t expecting that,” Penelope laughed. “So, you are Jo?”

“Yep, short for Josie. Hope’s the only one who calls me that.”       

“Noted." 

Once Penelope let the surprising information settle, she turned her attention back to the spell in her hand and handed it back to Josie. “Well, I’ve got a class to get to in a few. I presume you do too. Do you want to meet up tomorrow instead? Same place and time?”

Josie took the spell page back and carefully slid it into her backpack on the ground, “It’s okay if you don’t want to help. Hope should be able to help when she gets back anyway.”

She stood up and sluggedher backpack over her shoulders. She didn’t realize they’d been talking this long. 

Penelope smirked at the girl, “And pass up a chance to disrupt the patriarchy? Heck no. You and I, pretty witch, we’re gonna start a revolution.”

A small shy smile unintentionally grew on Josie’s lips. She gripped her backpack straps a little tighter and looked at the girl in front of her with amusement, “Same place, same time.”

She turned around and proceeded to leave the mill, not before throwing another shy smile at Penelope. And then she was gone.

A small smile grew on Penelope’s lips. Despite her promises to keep a drama-free semester, she was anticipating seeing the girl tomorrow. For some reason, she couldn’t refuse the brown-eyed girl.

Perhaps it was because she was incredibly attracted to the girl and her honest brown-eyes. Or perhaps the way the girl was not afraid to bite back.

 There was just something special about Josie Saltzman that she couldn’t get enough of.

           

           

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just letting ya'll know this will be the last update of the night. Will update soon @posiebby


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie burns the woods down and quite possibly, Penelope's heart as well.

 

Shacked up in her room for the night, Josie was laying on her stomach on her bed, diligently working on her chemistry of magic homework. She was trying her best, but she couldn’t concentrate.

A certain green-eyed witch was stuck on her mind.

She’s replayed their meeting at the old mill earlier in her head all day long. At one point, she’d been so distracted that even the people around her took notice, particularly Lizzie. When she refused to confess what was on her mind, Lizzie just continued to hassle her.

She didn’t know it herself, but Josie wanted to keep Penelope for herself.

She gave her sister a lame excuse, blaming their troubled father instead, which she believed. She thought working on homework might take her mind off it but it was no use. Josie shook her head in defeat and closed her textbook. Just as she was about to stand up to stretch, she heard a light knock on her door.

She wasn’t expecting anyone, so when Hope came through the door, she was a little surprised.

“Hey Jo,” Hope gave a small smile and sat next to Josie on the girl’s bed. “You busy?”

Josie shifted a bit to give Hope a little more space, “Nah, I was just about to take a break from my homework.”

Hope noticed the chemistry textbook behind her, “Ah, Chemistry of Magic? I could help you if you want.”

“You’ve already done enough for me today. I was meaning to thank you for hooking me up with Penelope.”

“Of course, how’d it go?”

“Well besides the fact that we didn’t do anything, I’d say it went well. She’s a real peach that one,” Josie teased.

“That’s Penelope for you. She bites,” Hope added playfully.

She thought for a moment before offering, “If you still need help, I’m free tomorrow. There shouldn’t be any more sudden missions for a while.”

“What was it this time?”

“Nothing big, just the usual supernatural stuff.”

Josie knew the tribrid was lying, but she let it go with a shrug. If she needed to know, she trusted the girl would have told her.

“ _Actually_ , I’m meeting with Penelope again. She said she’d help and she seemed just as bent on changing the school’s policy as me,” Josie smiled to herself, remembering what the girl had said about starting a revolution.

Hope watched carefully as the girl next to her bowed her head with a shy smile, looking ... _bashful_? Hope shifted uncomfortably, not liking the way the girl was lost in her thoughts. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Well, just let me know if you need anything. I’ll come running,” Hope promised, reaching over to place her hands over Josie’s. She squeezed it lightly in assurance.

“I will,” Josie gave the girl a small smile, “You know, I’m glad to have a friend like you.” 

Hope's heart dropped. She smiled sadly at the girl replying a short “Same” before leaving the brown-eyed girl alone in her room.

When she closed the door behind her, she couldn’t stop the feeling of rejection that consumed her.

 

_Friends._

_. . ._

 

“Not like that! You have to say it slower.” 

“I’m trying my damn hardest,” Josie retorted frustratingly.

They’d been practicing for the past hour. They headed straight for the old mill after their classes ended.

“Well try harder,” Penelope teased back, finding the girl’s furrowed eyebrows adorable. “Come on, Teddy,” Penelope encouraged, “concentrate and visualize the fire.”

Josie’s breath caught when she felt the girl move behind her and grabbed her hands from behind. She could feel the girl’s breath tickling her neck, the same smell of evergreen and mint from their first encounter in the air. Josie took a deep breath to gain composure and focused on the soft, but firm hands holding hers in front of them.

She proceeded to siphon magic from the girl behind her, reveling in the magic that coursed within her. She’d never felt this powerful before.

“Breathe,” Penelope whispered in her ear and with a deep breath, Josie repeated the incantation again. As the spell slipped through her lips, she felt the heat rise in her palm and with a final beat, she watched as a gust of fire shot from her hands and burned the woods in front of them.

She hadn’t expected to emit that much fire and judging by the sudden gasp, Penelope hadn’t as well. 

They watched in horror as the woods uncontrollably burst into flames. 

In a panic, Penelope quickly released the girl from her hold and uttered a spell to extinguish the fire with water. When the adrenaline wore off, Josie looked back at Penelope in astonishment.

“How’d you do that?” 

“It’s just an elemental water spell,” she responded.           

Josie shook her head, “No, I mean where’d you learn that? That was incredible.”           

“My coven back in New Orleans. They’re pretty big on offensive magic.”

“That must be how you met Hope. Her family’s from there,” Josie made the connection.

“Yeah, we’re what you’d call ‘childhood friends’. Our parents were friends, before they… yeah,” Penelope looked down sadly. She remembered the day Hope had called her crying hysterically through the phone.

She regrets not physically being there for her. Her stupid parents always made things difficult.

Josie approached the girl and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder silently. Penelope looked at the hand appreciatively. She cleared her throat to rid herself of the tension and looked back towards Josie, “If you want, I could teach you. Can’t start a revolution with just fire.”

Josie laughed at that with appreciation, “I would be delighted.”

Penelope heart tingled at the sound, feeling the girl’s bubbly laugh vibrate in the air. She desperately wanted to cause it again.

When she realized she was staring a bit too long, she cleared her throat and moved out of her reach. “Yeah, but next time, let’s not burn the world down, yeah?”

Josie gave her a mischievous smile and bit her lip, “No promises.”

“Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“That,” Penelope pointed at Josie’s face.

“I’m not even doing anything,” Josie countered.

“Never mind,” Penelope mumbled, turning around, whispering something about adorable and cute under her breath.

Josie looked at the girl in mild confusion.

“You should try the spell one more time. By yourself this time.”

“You sure I won’t burn the forest down again?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you don’t,” Penelope winked.

Josie turned her back on Penelope to hide the blush of red on her cheeks, slapping them to rid them of it.

“You gonna start or…?”

“Just give me a second,” Josie stammered. When she gained her composure, she lifted her hands up in front of her and concentrated.

She closed her eyes and thought back to how she felt when she did it the first time. She remembered Penelope against her with her arms around her. She could still feel her soft hands holding hers in front of them. She remembered the warmth, the smell that enveloped her body, and with a quick incantation, she felt that same warmth release from her palms in a stream of flames.

With a proud grin, she stopped the flames and turned around towards the raven-haired witch with the biggest grin, “I did it!”

In a haze, Penelope approached the girl with the proudest grin. She felt warmth spread inside of her, gathering in her chest. She couldn’t keep her smile off her face.

She placed her hand on the girl’s head, mussing it up affectionately, “I know.”

It was in that moment that Penelope made a terrifying revelation.

She was crushing on Josie Saltzman… _hard._  

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think?
> 
> I'll tweet when I update the next chapter @posiebby.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope explains to Josie why flowers are dangerous and like always, Lizzie gets in the way.

 

They’ve been meeting in private for the past two weeks to continue their offensive magic lessons. What started as a simple fire spell lesson had evolved into Penelope teaching Josie a variety of useful spells.

Somehow along the way, studying also became a thing.

Penelope had offered to help the girl in her magic classes, seeing as she was the more experienced witch. In exchange, Josie tutored the girl in her non-magic classes. They spent most of their free time together, either at the old mill or in the library. Today, they were cozied up in the empty library during their free period, reading up on an elemental spell to grow flowers and plants.

 “How are flowers even useful in battle?” Josie questioned quizzically. She had no idea how magically-grown flowers could be considered offensive magic.

“Depends on what flowers you’re talking about,” Penelope posed, scooting her wooden chair closer to the girl next to her so that their elbows were barely touching. From the corner of her eye, she saw the girl shiver a little at the touch. She smiled at the fact the doe-eyed girl was just as affected by it as her.

She turned her head towards the girl, looking her in the eye, “Something as beautiful as a flower can be distracting. The fragrance, too.  So much so one wouldn’t even realize it’s thorns.” She watched as Josie swallowed anxiously, unable to take her eyes off the girl. 

Unable to stand the tension, Josie cleared her throat and looked away with a slight blush. 

“Plus, if you’re good enough at it, you could probably grow vines and strangle someone if you really wanted. But, yeah, you could just grow flowers too,” Penelope teased. 

“Shut up,” Josie groaned, unable to handle Penelope’s constant teasing. It was hard to control her reactions (for example, her stupid, bloody cheeks) when the girl was involved.

Penelope just gave her a cheeky smile and wrapped her arm around the brunette’s shoulder smoothly. She brought the girl against her chest and ruffled her hair affectionately. She reveled in how natural it felt to hold the girl in her arms like this. She’d finally realized her feelings for the girl and she wasn’t going to hide it. Plus, she’d have no idea how to do so anyway. These feelings were uncharted territory.

Josie pouted, trying to wrestle her way (half-assed if she might add) out of Penelope’s grasp, “Penny, get off! You’re supposed to be helping me.”

Penelope tightened her gentle hold in response, “I told you not to call me that,” she reprimanded. “Makes me want to gag.”

“So I can’t call you Penny, but you can call me Teddy,” Josie scoffed through Penelope’s hold. “Seems fair,” she said sarcastically.  

“Yeah, because you _are_ a teddy bear,” Penelope relented and let go of the girl, but not without pinching the girl’s cheeks teasingly.

Josie slapped her hand away playfully and gave the girl a scowl, “Whatever.”

Penelope laughed. She’d never met someone so _soft_ before. She found it incredibly endearing and fought the urge to hug the girl again. _Next time_ , she thought.

She looked at the spell book in front of them, contemplating. After a moment, the girl stood up abruptly and closed the spell book. “I’m tired of looking at spells,” Penelope decided. “Let’s go binge-watch in my room. Should be a good change of scenery,” Penelope offered.

Josie raised her eyebrows skeptically. From the looks of it, Penelope wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Really?” she questioned. Despite their frequent meetings, she found it hard to believe the girl would actually want to _hang out_ with her, especially when there’s half the school vying for the green-eyed girl’s attention.

”Yes,” Penelope whined, “I think we can handle skipping a lesson on magically enhanced gardening.”

“Isn’t there someone else you’d rather watch with? I’m rather boring when it comes to commentary,” Josie admitted timidly. She didn’t want to seem like a Debbie downer, but she’d rather she got it out before the girl realized it herself. She didn’t want the girl to find out how much of a bore she was outside of their lessons. She’d lived through enough instances where people left her for her more adventurous and spontaneous sister.

“I asked you, didn’t I?” Penelope replied cheekily and pulled the girl out of her seat. With an arm wrapped around her shoulder, she practically dragged the girl into the hallway. “Come on, Teddy,” Penelope cooed, “I’m thinking we start with a good true crime marathon and then we can slowly ease into horror if we’re still up by then.”

 “Let’s be spontaneous and start with horror,” Josie grinned, finally feeling herself loosen up.

Penelope’s grinned widened at her response, “That’s my girl,” she mused.

As soon as they exited the library, they heard the distinct sound of a throat being cleared in front of them. Simultaneously, they turned their gaze up to the disruptor.

“There you are, Josie. I’ve been looking for you all afternoon,” Lizzie spat with her arms crossed, narrowing her eyes at the foreign arm around her sister’s shoulders.

Their glowing smiles instantly faded and with an awkward cough into her fist, Penelope reluctantly removed her arm from Josie’s shoulder. She immediately knew this was Teddy’s sister. She was just as Jed had described her: blonde, hot, and a pain in the ass. She was quickly finding out the last part for herself.

“Hey, Lizzie. What’d you want?” Josie mumbled. Her cheeks were still embarrassingly red from Penelope’s touch.

“Dad needs us,” Lizzie explained, grabbing onto her sister’s arm and dragged her away.

Not fighting her sister’s grasp, Josie turned her head back to Penelope and mouthed a silent apology (in which Penelope gave a reassuring smile in return) before being whisked away.

When they were out of sight, Josie yanked her arm back, “Did you have to drag me away like that?”

Lizzie gave her an incredulous look, “When were you gonna tell me you were shacking it up with the resident evil witch?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“When it involves you, _sister,_ it does. Have you heard what people say about her? What kind of message does that send about us? We’re supposed to be role models for dad. Hanging out with degenerate witches with a rebellious reputation will only hurt all the hard work,” Lizzie ranted.

Josie opened her mouth to counter back but Lizzie cut her off. “How am I gonna be on the Honor Council if you’re bringing us down? Seriously. Especially after what she did to MG?”

“She didn’t hurt MG, she was protecting him. That was just a rumor,” Josie argued back.

“Then, why is MG still mute on the subject? Obviously, she did something to him and rumor or not, something isn’t right about her,” she warned. “Stay away from her from now on,” Lizzie demanded. Josie watched silently as her sister turned around and walked ahead without her.

Josie knew better than to argue with her when she got like this. She would just make it worse. Josie gave a loud sigh before following after her sister to their dad’s office. She had a feeling whatever her dad wanted to discuss had to do with the incident with MG, Raf, and Penelope.

 

 

. . .

 

 

Penelope slumped on her bed and let out the biggest sigh. She finally finished trying out for one of the Wickery teams (per Jed’s insistent begging). It was a last-minute decision really. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try (especially since Josie ditching her earlier today freed up her schedule). Not that it was her fault.

She had no clue the rules of the foreign game but she figured she’d just learn along the way. Plus, she had Jed to fall back on, who was to no surprise, Captain of the team.

She was glad she had a means of expressing the energy she had welt up inside her. Before attending the boarding school, she had no time to do any extracurricular activity with all the training her coven put her through. As the Regent’s daughter, even more was expected of her.

Personal time was a newfound freedom she relished in and while she initially hadn’t wanted to change schools, she was starting to feel grateful she did.

Surprisingly, tryouts proved to be a breeze. She honestly had so much fun. She would find out tomorrow whether she made the team or not and judging by Jed’s assurance, she was sure to make it.

Now that she was finally done with the day, she could finally take a breather. She was about to take off her bra under her shirt, when she heard a knock on her door. She groaned internally and reluctantly told whoever it was to come in.

She watched as the door opened and Hope entered the room. She closed the door before plopping her self right on top of her best friend.

Penelope puffed at the impact, groaning as she pushed the girl beside her on the bed, “You’re an idiot, you know.”

Hope laughed and slapped the girl on the shoulder, “yeah but, I’m your idiot!”

Penelope shook her head in amusement. She hadn’t seen the girl this happy in a while. “What’s with the good mood? Where’s the usually moody tribid I’m used to?”

“Hey! I’m not moody and I’m just happy to see you. I’ve barely seen you these past few days,” Hope complained.

“Between tutoring and tryouts, I’ve been so busy lately. I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

“Ah yeah, how’s Josie been? Haven’t seen her in a while either.”

“She’s good, I think. I’ve been teaching her some other spells I thought would be useful for her cause,” Penelope shared.

“For a nerd like her, she’s probably loving it,” Hope smiled to herself. It was one of the reasons why she was in love with the girl.

Penelope noticed the weird smile, but thought nothing of it. From the looks of it, Josie must be important to her.

“From what I can tell, she does.”

They took a moment to take a breather, finally at peace after a long day. They were still getting used to being so physically close to each other. It was a much needed blessing for both.

Hope turned her head towards the girl, “How’s your parents? They must be worried.”

“They don’t say it, but I can tell. The Garden District is still planning their revolt. They want my mom’s head on a stick,” Penelope sighed. “Not like I can blame them.”

“She’s not that bad, P.”

Penelope argued, “Yes, she is. You haven’t seen what she’s been doing lately. It’s like I don’t even know her anymore.” Penelope thought back to the moment before her mother sent her away to Mystic Falls. “At first, I thought she sent me away to protect me. Now I’m not so sure.” 

Hope listened silently, knowing nothing she said could ease the girl. She just held her hand tightly in hers between their body to show her she’s not alone. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I missed you so much, you have no idea,” she said sincerely.

Penelope pulled the girl into a sideway hug, “I know. Me, too.”

They stayed like that for a moment, until Hope ruined it, “Are we gonna kiss now?” she teased. 

Penelope gave out a loud laugh and let go of the girl, “Are you sure it’s me you wanna kiss? Cause according to Jed, someone’s managed to catch your puppy heart.”

At the implied mention of Josie, Hope involuntarily blushed, instantly giving herself away.

“Ah! So there is someone?” Penelope asked incredulously. Never in their years of friendship had she seen the girl blush so hard.

“Yes, and no, I’m not going to tell you.”

“Really? Not even me?”

“Not even you,” Hope said seriously. She turned toward the girl and gave her a devilish smile.

“You know you can’t hide anything from me, right?” Penelope teased, raising her eyebrows at the girl.

She watched as Hope gave her a look before changing the subject, “You know, I actually came in here for a reason.” Penelope watched as she got off the bed and started for the door. “There’s a party in the woods tomorrow. We’re going,” Hope decided.

Like Penelope would say no, “I’m in.”

“Good,” Hope smiled, before turning to leave the room.

Penelope stopped the girl in her tracks. “Hey, don’t think I didn’t notice you change the subject. We’ll talk about this soon,” Penelope threatened light-heartedly. She watched as Hope rolled her eyes dramatically, before continuing to the door.

Just as she was about to twist the door knob open, she heard the distinct sound of knocks on wood. Hope turned her head towards Penelope questioningly, wondering if she was expecting company so late. Penelope shrugged and motioned for her to open the door.

When Hope opened the door hesitantly, she was surprised to be met with a wide-eyed Josie.

“Um, hi.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or did this week fly by so fast? I didn't even notice it was already Thursday tomorrow. It must be the Posie Depression Hour blues. Hope this chapter helps you as much as it did for me. 
> 
> Let me know what you think @posiebby. I have no idea what I'm doing honestly. 
> 
> Also, VOTE for POSIE! I'm so stoked we made it to the finals. Only love to both ships in this last round!  
> (http://www.zimbio.com/brackets/TV+Couples+March+Madness+2019)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't get her wrong, nothing is more important to her than sleep. But, if she were to choose between sleep and Josie, she'd without a doubt spend many sleepless nights.

 

 

 

“Um, hi.”

Josie stood awkwardly by the door, her fingertips fidgeting with the ends of her pajama shirt. Her eyes widened when she noticed Hope in the room.

Hope and Penelope just looked at the girl in shock for a brief moment, before the latter motioned her inside.

Penelope stood up from the bed and dusted off the wrinkles in her shirt nervously, “Oh, hey Josie.” She stumbled over her words, almost letting ‘Teddy’ out of her mouth before she thought better of it.

Josie gave the girl a bashful smile before turning her attention to the other girl in the room, “Is this a bad time?” She looked back at her tutor, “I can come back later,” she offered lightly.

Hope shook her head out of her stupor and spoke up, “No, I was just on my way.” She pointed towards the door, still not moving an inch. She looked between the two girls in a stupor, wanting badly to know why Jo was in Penelope’s room so late.

Penelope gave her friend a weird ‘what are you doing look’ and Hope realized she said she’d leave but hadn’t yet. She gave a passing smile to Josie before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

Penelope shifted her gaze from the door to the girl in front of her. The girl was clad in the cutest Blues Clues matching pajama set and had a red backpack slung over one shoulder.

She chuckled as she looked the girl over, “Had a nightmare, sweetheart?”

Josie gave her the cutest pout before huffing out loud, “No, I guess I just felt bad about leaving earlier with Lizzie. Thought I'd surprise you to make up for it.”

Despite how exhausted she felt, she gave the girl the widest smile before motioning toward her bed, “Make yourself at home.”

The other girl tucked her hair behind her ear shyly before sitting on the girl’s bed. She took the time to look around the girl’s room, noting how bare her walls were. There were no posters of celebrities or inspirational quotes. There weren’t any family photos either. She noticed there were only two picture frames sat on the girl’s desk: one with Hope, Jed, and her as kids and a more recent one with an unfamiliar pretty girl. The room was neat and tidy except for the girl’s school bag and shoes thrown haphazardly on the floor. It was exactly how she imagined the girl’s room would be.

Feeling giddy, Penelope plopped on the spacious bed, scooting back to lean against the headboard. She watched as her crush chewed on her cheek nervously before patting the space next to her.

Josie looked at her hesitantly for a beat before scooting next to Penelope against the headboard.

Noticing the space between them, Penelope shuffled closer until their elbows were touching, justifying it with a lame “I’m cold”.

The brown-eyed girl laughed out loud, slowly getting more and more comfortable in the presence of her new friend. She’s never been so in tune with someone before, especially not this fast.

Penelope grabbed her laptop from her nightstand and pried it open. “Okay, what’s first,” she posed.

“Hm,” Josie thought for a second. She said she wanted to watch a horror movie earlier but she wasn’t in the mood for it now. She looked up at the girl and suggested the first thing that popped in her mind, “Hocus Pocus?”

“Seriously?”

“You have something better, Penny?”

“A bit ironic choice don’t ya think. The film stigmatized false witch culture, but sure we can settle for Hocus Pocus if you want,” Penelope teased sarcastically, ignoring the use of the awful nickname. She didn’t really have a problem with the film, in fact it was one of her favorite Halloween classics, but she couldn’t let up an opportunity to tease the girl. Judging by the cutest ‘angry’ expression it evoked from the girl, it was well worth it.

“Why are you so cute, Blues Clues?” Penelope cooed. She wrapped her arm around the girl and pulled her against her side. She’d been wanting the girl closer to her since she walked through the door and wasted no time in doing so.

Josie quickly grew flustered and bashfully hid in the girl’s shoulder. She’d never been one for affection, but it was surely growing on her.

Penelope smiled down at the girl against her before logging into her Netflix account and playing “Hocus Pocus”.

The opening music filled the silent room as the two girls got comfortable in their cuddle under the duvet.

“How was your day?” Penelope whispered gently. She knew they’d both seen the movie multiple of times already, and that it was just an excuse to hang out together. She didn’t want to waste time watching movies when she could be getting to know the girl instead.

She desperately wanted to know her.

“It was good, I guess.”

“Learn anything new?”

She watched as Josie perked up at the question, “Actually yeah! In Defensive Magic, we learned this new spell that can deflect offensive attacks. You should have seen me. I was so good at it I almost knocked Lizzie to the ground and her reaction was hilarious!” Josie realized she was rambling, worried she was putting the girl off.

In actuality, she was doing the opposite.

Penelope was entranced as she listened to the girl ramble about her day, the film long forgotten. Affectionate bubbled within her and she resisted the urge to kiss the girl on her forehead. With a small smile, she pushed a strand of hair that fell over Josie’s eyes, “I wish I was there.”

“You should’ve been.”

“You gonna show me how it’s done?”

“Maybe tomorrow? During our free period?”

“Perfect.”

“What’d your dad want earlier?” Penelope asked. She almost forgot about it.

“Ah, just Event Planning Committee stuff. Perks of being the headmaster’s daughter,” Josie explained sarcastically. “The Miss Mystic Falls Pageant is being held here this year so we have to start planning it.”

“Miss Mystic Falls Pageant?”

“Yeah, it’s a town tradition where girls compete for the Miss Mystic Falls title. It’s a pretty big deal around here.”

“Sounds extremely outdated and misogynistic,” Penelope commented.

“It is,” Josie agreed, “but it’s also a family tradition. My mom was a former Miss Mystic Falls.” She thought back to the number of times her mom had brought up the pageant with pride.

“Does that mean you’re gonna compete?”

“If my mom has a say, yes,” Josie shrugged, “but I’m probably not going to win.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think I’m what they’re looking for. It’s definitely more up Lizzie’s alley,” Josie confessed, fiddling with a loose thread in the duvet.

“Not what they’re looking for?” Penelope sat up straighter and pulled the girl’s gaze back up to her. “They’re idiots if they don’t choose you.”

“I don’t know, but I’m dreading it.” Josie still wasn’t convinced she had any chance of winning, no matter how much she wanted to win for her mom. As long as Lizzie won, she’d be fine.

“You’re kidding me, Teddy! You’re literally everything they're looking for. They’d be crazy not to pick you,” she argued. She didn’t want Josie to doubt herself for one second. Not when she’d seen firsthand how special the girl was.

Josie looked into sincere green eyes with a sense of gratitude and bashfulness. She didn’t know how to respond to such high compliments so she just mumbled a thanks with a shy smile.

Penelope could tell the girl didn’t fully believe her, but she was determined to make her see herself the way she saw her. Even if it took an infinite amount of compliments.

They sat together comfortably, allowing the long forgotten movie to fill in the silence.

Feeling more relaxed, Josie was confident enough to wrap her arm over Penelope and snuggle a little closer.

“Cozy?”

She felt the girl nod against her in response.

“How was your day?” Josie asked, lifting her head up slightly to look at her friend.

Penelope glanced down briefly before answering, “It was going pretty well before your sister took you away.”

“That was rude, wasn't it?” Josie played with the hem of Penelope’s shirt.

“Kind of,” she chuckled, “she doesn't like me much, huh?”

“Honestly, she doesn't. But I wouldn't take it to heart. I think she's just threatened by your rumors. She doesn't want to lose her HWIC status.”

“HWIC? Who said I was??”

“Your followers!” Josie sat up abruptly and looked at her as if it was obvious.

“My followers? You act like I have a cult or something.”

“You kind of do,” Josie countered, “they follow you around all day. It's weird.”

Penelope was about to disagree but realized she was kind of right, “Maybe they just like my company.”

Josie scoffed, “More like your face.”

“If I didn't know better you sound a little jealous.”

“Jealous? Never. I don't know what they find so special about you,” Josie dismissed defensively. She was a terrible liar.

Penelope grinned at the girl and pulled her back into her arms so she was against her side again, “Don’t worry, Teddy. You're my favorite follower.”

Josie pinched the girl in her side, feeling Penelope jerk in response, “You’re an idiot. They're blind if they think you're a badass. You're the real teddy bear, Penny, and you can't hide it from me.”

“Whatever you say, _Teddy_.”

The two fell into easy conversation, talking about anything and everything from their favorite movies to childhood memories. Eventually, their conversation lulled and they fell asleep wrapped up in each other, too tired to do anything else.

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys like it! let me know what you liked and what you didn't :)
> 
> if im being honest, i just keep adding unnecessary stuff in here that wasn't in the original plot. why do i make things so much harder for myself. hang in there, i swear we'll get some real posie action soon. 
> 
> on another note, im dreading Thursday more and more


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie does the walk of shame and Jed becomes scared for Henelope's future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to commemorate the season finale tonight, here's a new chapter.
> 
> may it fill the large Posie-shaped voids in our hearts as we say goodbye to Penelope until S3. enjoy!

 

 

“Where were you last night? You didn't come back after you left.”

Josie placed her breakfast tray on the empty dining hall table, sighing loudly as she took a seat, “I fell asleep in the library. Guess I was studying too much.”

“Geez, Jo. I told you not to do that anymore. I was worried about you,” Lizzie reprimanded.

Josie mumbled her apologies and continued to pick at her food. She'd been in daze since she sneaked out of Penelope’s room before the girl woke earlier this morning. When she woke up in the arms of her friend, she felt a flurry of unknown emotions. It scared her so she ran.

She didn't know what to make of that entire night, honestly.

She was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't register the light tap on her shoulder. She felt the table and seat move before she realized who sat beside her.

“Hey, Jo,” Hope greeted as she placed her tray down next to Josie’s.

“Hi to you too, Lizzie,” Lizzie mocked, feeling left out. She mumbled something about ‘so obvious’ and ‘heart eyes’, none of which the other two heard.

“Sorry, hey,” Hope responded sheepishly, before turning her attention back to her brown-eyed friend, “how’d last night go with Pe...?”

Josie’s quickly interrupted her with a nudging knee and a loud cough, “the library? It was good. Learned a lot and stuff.”

Hope gave her a weird look, but played along, “Oh, um that's cool.” She was so confused, but if she learned one thing from being around the twins for so long, it was that you just went with what they wanted. 

Lizzie gave them an unconvinced look before getting distracted by some hot dude that passed by. 

With Lizzie occupied, Hope turned toward Josie with concern, “The library? Really? You’re such a bad liar.”

“Hey,” Josie protested, trying to keep her voice down, “she believed me, didn't she? And besides, the less she knows, the better.”

“Why don’t you want her to know you were with P? And what were you doing there anyway?”

“Well, for your first question, she doesn’t need to know where I am all the time. And for the second, she left her math textbook at the library when I was tutoring her. She has an exam on Monday,” Josie lied. 

“Wait, you’re tutoring her in math? That’s ridiculous,” Hope scoffed, “P’s like the smartest person I know. She’s an actual genius. And no offense but I’m pretty sure _ she  _ should be tutoring you.” 

Josie was puzzled. If Penelope excelled in non-magic classes, then why did she ask her to tutor her?

Hope let the subject go, “So, when’s this revolution you’re planning gonna happen? You’ve been training with P for weeks. What more do you have to learn to convince your dad?” If she were being honest with herself, she’d admit that she wasn’t exactly a fan of how close Josie and Penelope seem to be lately. She was a bit jealous, but she knew, without a doubt, that sweet, soft spoken Josie was the exact opposite of Penelope’s type. Judging by her past romantic interests (one in particular), bad girls were more up her alley. 

“It’s never a bad idea to be over prepared. But, I’ll be meeting with my dad soon. I just have a little more I want to learn from her,” Josie replied. The revolution had managed to slip her mind these past few days. Hope’s inquisition served as a reminder to her of the true purpose of her training sessions with Penelope. 

She was about to explain herself further when she heard her sister snigger, “Speaking of the actual devil.”

She followed her sister’s gaze and saw a group of students walk into the dining hall, with her sleeping buddy and Jed at the center of attention. She watched as the green-eyed girl laughed at something someone said, feeling those same unknown tingles in her chest from when she woke up bubble inside her. She couldn’t take her eyes off of her.

Penelope was finishing getting breakfast in the buffet line with Jed when her eyes locked on familiar brown ones. She broke into a small smile and waved subtly with her free hand, not hearing a question one of her ‘friends’ (not sure if she could actually call them that) had asked. 

Josie blushed and looked away, feeling embarrassed at getting caught staring.  _ So stupid. _

The raven-haired witch noticed Hope next to Josie and nudged Jed in their friends’ direction. They apologized to their peers for rejecting their offer to sit with them and made their way towards Hope and the twin’s table.

“Hey,” Penelope greeted the trio, placing her tray on Josie’s other side and taking a seat. Jed slid next to Lizzie on the other side of the table, despite her obvious objection. 

Josie gave the girl a short smile and mumbled a “hey”. She was feeling tense because it was highly probable that Hope and her sister would catch her in her recent lies. That, plus the fact that she had done the walk of shame (in the platonic sense) from Penelope’s room this morning without the girl knowing, made it ten times more awkward. She was just a tinsy bit panicked. 

“Hey, to you, too,” Lizzie sneered, watching as the new girl and her sister were lost in their own world. 

Penelope turned her attention to the twin and gave her a smooth nod, “You must be Lizzie. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Good things I hope.”

“Good things,” Penelope promised before turning to Josie and smiled. “You didn’t tell me your sister was so beautiful. I can see it runs in your genes,” she complimented.

The four of them looked at Lizzie in astonishment as they watched her cheeks turn a bright red. 

“Um, thanks, I guess.”

Lizzie broke the awkward silence with conversation about the upcoming Miss Mystic Falls, trapping both Jed and Hope in her rants. 

With them distracted, Penelope leaned into Josie’s ear, “Why’d you leave me hanging this morning? It was cold.” It was obvious Josie wanted to keep their hanging out/tutoring sessions a secret, especially from Lizzie (who’s already got it out for P). She also wanted to keep whatever was going on between her and Josie to herself, not wanting Jed and Hope to see her so soft. 

“Why are you sucking up to my sister?” Josie countered. 

Penelope shrugged, “Not sucking up. Just want to make a good first impression on my best friend’s sister.”

Josie blushed when she said best friend but chose to ignore it (as best as she could). She decided to be honest with the girl, “I left because I wanted to avoid the awkward good morning interaction. I didn’t mean to stay the night in the first place.”

Penelope scooted over a tad closer and whispered, “Well next time, plan on wearing your Blues Clues pajamas again. I want to cuddle again.”

Josie blushed at the implications of “next time”, already looking forward to it. “What’s with your cult following you around so earlier in the morning?” She tried her best to not sound so affected, but she wasn’t sure if it worked. 

“They’re not my cult. And since you asked, your girl made the Green witchery team. The roster was posted up in the hallway this morning.”

Josie could see the excitement on the girl’s face even though it was obvious she was trying to downplay it. “Wow, congrats. Why didn’t you tell me you tried out night?.” 

She couldn’t help but imagine the girl in her uniform. 

_ Damn. _

Jed perked at the mention of witchery and broke his conversation with the two girls, “We’re totally gonna win championships this year.” He gave Lizzie the smuggest look, “You’re so gonna eat shit this year.”

Lizzie ignored the wolf and turned to the girl across of her, “You’re playing for Green this year?”

“As of this morning, yep.”

“Picked the wrong team, witch. Last year, we kicked this puppy’s ass to the ground,” Lizzie scoffed. 

“You play?” Penelope asked.

“Captain of the Blue team since freshman year,” Lizzie boasted. 

Josie cringed at her sister’s narcissism, “They won championships last year.”

“Thanks to me,” her sister chimed proudly with a wicked smile pointed at Jed. 

Jed rolled his eyes, “Please, if Jamie wasn’t in Blue, your team would be on the sidelines with Yellow. You’re lucky he has a crush on you.”

“Can’t blame him,” the blonde smirked.

Penelope, Josie, and Hope watched on the sidelines passively as the two captains bickered till the end of breakfast. When the school bell rung, Lizzie pulled Jo out of her seat and dragged her to their next class, leaving Jed, Penelope, and Hope behind to watch. 

Once they were out of the ear shot, Lizzie narrowed her eyes at her sister, “What’s going on between you and that witch? I saw how chummy you guys were.”

“Penelope? Nothing.”

“Nope, Josie. You can’t lie to me.”

Josie let out a loud sigh, not being able to say anything because she was interrupted.

“I told you to stay away from her, Josette! She’s got serious voodoo vibes and she’s hurting our image. She can compliment me all she wants, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a Blue now. That pack of  _ dogs _ are a bunch of degenerate hypebeast who don’t know how to control themselves.”

“I told you there’s nothing going on between us and even if there was, it wouldn’t be any of your business, anyway,” Josie argued. She hated when her sister was so controlling. 

“Just stay away from her. You know how important the championship is to me. You getting buddy-buddy with the enemy will just get in the way,” Lizzie warned, putting a sympathetic hand on her twin’s shoulder. “We’re sisters, Jo. No one else is gonna have our backs except each other.”

Josie gave the girl a reassuring smile to placate her before they entered History of Magic and the Supernatural. 

She hung her head low, not knowing how she got herself in this mess in the first place. She refused to give up her time with her new best friend, but she also couldn’t ignore her sister’s warning. She spent the entire period mindlessly sketching, not knowing what to make of the mess she made. 

  
  


. . . 

  
  
  


“What the hell was that?” Jed interrogated.

“What are you talking about?” Penelope asked. Hope had just left the two in the dining hall for her training session with Josie’s dad when Jed popped the question.

“Stop playing, P. You can’t hide your heart eyes from me,” Jed wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Heart eyes? Do you even know who I am?” 

“Stop the act. You’ve got it bad for Saltzman!” Jed accused. He put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, which she immediately slapped away. 

“Lizzie? No way,” Penelope barfed. She wasn’t stupid, she knew who he meant but she wasn’t willingly to give it up without a fight.

“You know who,” Jed deadpanned. He wasn’t stupid either. “You can pretend all you want, but it won’t change the fact that you want Josie.”

Penelope hated how spot on he was, but never let up, “Nope. Not gonna admit it.”

Jed shrugged, “Whatever.” 

Penelope thought he was gonna tease her more, but she noticed his face suddenly turn serious.

“You haven’t asked Hope about her crush, have you?”

“Uh yeah last night. Weirdly enough, she hasn’t told me who yet. You know how she is though, stubborn as hell.”

“Uh yeah.” 

Jed was confused as to why Hope hadn’t revealed her crush on Josie yet, especially when she makes no effort to hide it from everyone but her crush.

“Do you know? Cause if you do, I’m gonna have to kill Hope,” Penelope threatened jokedly. 

“I don’t,” he lied. It was for the best. It’s not like Hope actually outright told him, he just figured it out. He couldn’t tell her though, it wasn’t his secret to share no matter how desperately he wanted to. 

“Geez, maybe it’s someone we know? Maybe Lizzie? Lord knows she’s got a thing for HWIC. Davina did a number on her for sure,” Penelope reminisced.

“Did a number on you, too. Don’t think I forgot,” Jed countered.

“It was one time! Let it go!” 

As the girl happily went down memory lane, Jed couldn’t help but think about what his cousin had just confirmed earlier. He could already see the drama waiting to unfold between the trio and he was afraid of what it might mean for Penelope and Hope’s friendship in the future. 

 

He shook his head in worry.  _ Josette Saltzman, you sweet and beautiful son of a bitch. _   
  


 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys enjoyed! slowly but surely we're getting towards the meat of the story. 
> 
> i wanted to thank each and everyone of you who commented and gave me kudos. i may be too shy and anxious to reply but please know it means the world to me. ya'll motivate and inspire me to continue writing despite this upcoming posie hiatus. this chapter is dedicated to you <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope can't take her eyes off of Josie in that little black dress.

 

 

Penelope was officially drained. Between her classes, training with Josie, and practice for witchery, she had no breaks today. Once she finished showering in the locker room after practice, she sprinted to her room as fast as she could to avoid being pulled into a conversation she had no energy to entertain. She swiftly closed the door, dropped her backpack on the floor, and turned to flip the switch. When the lights turned on, Penelope turned around to find Hope sitting at her desk. 

Penelope jumped and clutched her chest, “Jesus Christ, Hope! You scared the shit out of me!”

Hope chuckled as she swiveled in P’s seat, “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Penelope shook her head, still recovering from that minor heart attack, “Why are you just sitting in the dark? Actually, why are you in my room in the first place?” She plopped herself face first into her mattress and let out a sigh. 

“If you answered your phone an hour ago, you would know.”

“Sorry, I was at practice.”

“Oh right, you do sports now. Well, since it looks like you forgot, the welcome party is tonight.”

Penelope groaned as she flipped onto her back, “That’s tonight?”

“Yes and we’re going,” Hope stated. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She promised a lot of the witches she’d bring the witch tonight in exchange for cheap labor and booze for the party. It was low of her to exploit her best friend, but she figured the girl was gonna go anyway.

“I don’t know, Hope. If you can’t tell, I’m absolutely beat.”

“Well, wake up! Everyone’s going tonight.”

Penelope automatically thought of the headmaster’s daughter and blushed at the thought of Josie Saltzman at a  _ party. _ She could already imagine how adorable she would be buzzed (that is if she drank) and how much easier it would be to fluster her with her teasing. Between sleep and Josie, she already made up her mind.

“Ugh, fine. I'll go, but you better whip me up the best energy potion you’ve got,” Penelope caved in. 

“On it!”   
  


. . .   
  


 

“Why are you so late, Jo? The party started like an hour ago,” Lizzie reprimanded, shaking her head at her sister’s tardiness (like usual).

“Sorry,” Josie apologized timidly, “getting ready took longer than I thought.” She nervously brushed the front of her black dress as she joined MG and her sister at the drink table. Crowds of students filled up the old mill as they bumped to the loud music. 

Lizzie looked her over and scoffed, “Why are you so dressed up? I’ve never seen this dress in my life.”

Josie looked down at her outfit in response, “It’s new.”

“Well next time, I’m picking your outfit.”

She quietly greeted MG, who gave her a sympathetic smile knowing how overbearing Lizzie can be. “You look amazing,” he complimented. He’d never seen the girl put in as much effort in her appearance than she did tonight. He wasn’t lying and if he wasn’t so completely head over heels for her sister, he would have admired the girl a bit more.

“Thanks,” Josie said gratefully, feeling a little bit better about her outfit choice. It was her first party of her sophomore year and she wanted to start it off looking good. But, she would be lying if she didn’t have a certain green-eyed witch in mind when she chose the dress. 

She had been subconsciously scanning the crowd for Penelope since she got here with no luck. 

“Enough flirting, you two,” Lizzie interrupted, shoving a red cup into her sister’s grasp, “Josie needs to catch up to us.” 

She gave her sister a look before downing the cup’s contents in a single go. She visibly cringed at the taste before catching her sister’s satisfied grin.

“There you go! Let’s get this party started!” Lizzie shouted, as Josie watched in amusement, already nervous about what this night had in store. 

They were drinking and laughing to one of MG’s vampire friend’s joke when Josie caught sight of the raven-haired girl near the front of the mill. She couldn’t help but check the girl out (platonically of course) as she walked through the crowd like she owned the place. She was dressed in a black leather jacket and ripped jeans looking every bit of the badass the rumors made her out to be.

Josie was drooling, but if you questioned her about it, she would just chalk it up to admiration and envy.

Lizzie interrupted her stare with a disgusted groan directed at her secret friend, “Who invited Blair Witch to the party?” 

She noticed how the entire room seemed to stop and stare at the  _ late _ entrance of Hope and the new girl and it made her even more cautious of the girl. Even her sister seemed taken by the girl. She snapped her fingers in front of MG to break his drooling stare, demanding his attention, “Did you hear what I said?”

MG blushed at being caught and sheepishly replied, “Sorry, I was distracted,” to which Lizzie scoffed at. “Hope did, and apparently so did half the party.”

Lizzie shook her head in irritation, going back to her drink and telling a cool story to reel her peers back in. It worked for everyone but Josie. 

Josie watched as the girl greeted everyone she passed, growing a bit more anxious as she slowly got closer. She wasn’t sure if it was the shots she just took or just the atmosphere in general, but she couldn’t help but feel her heartbeat grow stronger and faster. 

She wasn’t prepared for the moment her gaze met the girl’s. Her eyes widened as she saw the girl’s smile widen and made her way towards her, leaving Hope by herself to entertain the group she just left.

“Hey,” Penelope grinned, unable to take her eyes off the girl in the little black dress. She looked the girl over appreciatively without shame, finding the girl absolutely breathtaking. She was so used to seeing the girl in her uniform and cartoon pajamas that seeing her in something different made her speechless.

“Hi,” Josie replied shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She noticed the girl’s appreciative stare and it made her blush.

Penelope shifted closer, leaning into the girl’s ear so she could be heard over the loud party music, “You look amazing.” 

She leaned back when the girl gave a flustered smile in return and she felt her heart swell in her chest. She knew what she wanted and she wasn’t going to be subtle about it anymore. Tonight would be the night she stole Josie Saltzman’s heart.

She spoke up to give the girl a rest from her teasing, “How long have you been here? I feel like we were pretty late.”

“Maybe about 20 minutes ago? And you guys were pretty late. Why?”

Penelope grabbed an empty cup and filled it with whatever was on the table next to Josie, “I wasn’t planning on coming in the first place but Hope insisted.” She took a sip from her drink, “Plus, I figured you’d be here.”

Josie smiled at the implication and hid her grin by taking another sip. She was about to tease the girl back when she felt her elbow being yanked. She looked over her shoulder to find her sister staring cautiously at Penelope. 

“Hello, mind if I steal Josie here for a second?”

Penelope looked back at her friend who was rolling her eyes at her sister’s neediness. She smiles at that and turns to the other twin, “Go ahead.”

Lizzie gave her a short smile before dragging her sister away, who gave her an apologetic smile.

The green-eyed witch just smiled to herself, already feeling thankful she actually came. She promised herself that at the end of the night, Teddy would be dancing with her.

She refilled her cup and made her way to the bonfire, where she knew her cousin would be.   
  


 

. . .   
  


 

“Gosh, she's gorgeous.”

Jed groaned and plopped his head into his hands helplessly. He’d spent the past twenty minutes listening to his cousin drawl on and on about her crush (which he guessed correctly yesterday) and could feel a headache come on.

“Like look at her, look at her freaking pout. Oh my God, I want to kiss her so bad,” Penelope slurred, watching the girl from across the room as she laughed with a group of witches. She didn't care if Jed knew if she was soft anymore. Nothing else was on her mind except the girl and she just couldn't help herself. 

“I know, P but you should sober up a bit if you're gonna talk to her again. Don't want you to ruin our family’s reputation,” he said, patting her on the back sadly. He didn't know his cousin was in so deep and it made him even more scared about the future.

Penelope turned to her cousin and sighed, “You’re right. Why are you always right?”

Jed passed her his water bottle, “because I know better. Chug.”

He watched as his cousin downed the bottle, still not taking her eyes off Josie. She really was in her own world. He’d spent the past hour or so watching his cousin rudely turn down numerous dance offers and one-sided conversations. Her attention was solely on the brown-haired twin. 

“I’m so jealous of Hope right now,” Penelope groaned. 

Jed turned his head in Josie’s direction, finding her in Hope’s arms. From the looks of it, Hope was playfully holding the girl tight, while Josie was trying to wiggle her way out of it in a fit of giggles. Jed’s eyes widened at the sudden display of affection from the tribrid, knowing that she’s never been this bold with her crush before. 

“It’s not fair,” he heard from beside her, seeing the girl uncharacteristically pout. 

“Why don’t you find someone to distract you? Literally anyone here would die for your attention,” Jed reasoned.

“I'm not interested in anyone else,” Penelope replied.

“Seriously? That girl near the beer pong table,” he nudged her discreetly in her direction, “has been staring at you for the past 15 minutes. She’s totally hot and totally wants you.”

Penelope didn't even bother looking, “I’m not interested in just looks, Jed. I want substance over everything.” She paused, watching Teddy throw her head back in a laughing fit at something Hope said, “I can already tell she’s not kind or driven or passionate. She doesn't pout when she's teased or like to watch Halloween movies or love to cuddle.”

“You don't know that until you actually talk to her, P,” Jed chastised. 

“Not in the mood.”

“Fine. Instead of just sulking in the corner, why don’t you just go and talk to her? I know you’re dying to.”

“And leave you by yourself?”

“Please do. I’ve been dying to talk to that girl in the red dress,” Jed confessed. 

“Calm down, horn dog. I guess I’ll talk to her,” Penelope relented and stood from her seat. 

He could tell his cousin was nervous and felt sorry for her, “You’re a Park. Stop being a wussy.”

Penelope slapped the back of his head in response, “Shut up and go talk to that girl already.”

“On it, boss.”

  
  


. . .

  
  


Josie was on only on her fourth cup of cheap beer and she was already feeling pretty inebriated. She could feel how warm her cheeks were, which were probably an embarrassing  red. 

She was currently with Hope, Lizzie, MG and a few other students by the drinks table, laughing at one of the jokes MG said. He seemed to be more himself tonight and was in a much better mood than he had been at the start of school. Apparently, his healing powers were back to normal as well.

Josie glanced to her side and smiled when she saw the tribrid laugh out loud. She’d never seen the girl so unguarded and it was a fresh sight. She savored the moment because she was sure by morning time, Hope would swear off drinking to save face and go back to her usual asocial antics. 

Hope wrapped an arm around her shoulders and laughed, “Looking pretty red there, Jo.”

She lightly pushed the tribrid in embarrassment and in response, Hope tightened her hold, “Aw don't be so embarrassed! It's cute on you!”

Lizzie and MG watched the pair coyly. Hope was never subtle about her feelings for the siphoner and they were wondering when she'd finally make a move.

“Stop flirting, you two. I’m gonna barf,” Lizzie made fun and she watched as a blush settled on Hope’s cheeks as she reluctantly let go of Josie.

“Don’t be jealous, Liz,” Josie teased, “you’re just jealous because you’re lonely.” She stuck her tongue out at her sister and Hope swooned at the adorable action. 

“Oh shut it, Little Miss Goody Two-Shoes. I get dick and you know it,” she countered. She flipped her hair dramatically and took a large chug of her drink. 

Josie, Hope, and MG gave each other a look and laughed knowing she was actually right. 

MG was waiting all night for the right time to ask the blonde to dance, too nervous to build up the courage to do so. When he sensed a lull in the conversation, he was about to finally ask her but was interrupted by a loud shrek. 

“OMG! This is my song,” Lizzie shouted in delight, quickly grabbing the tribrid’s hand and dragging her away to what appeared to be the makeshift dance floor. 

Hope looked back at Josie in sympathy, knowing that if she didn’t follow the blonde’s lead, she’d get an earful.  _ Smh what a cockblocker.  _

Josie in turn gave MG a sympathetic look, knowing he’d been wanting to dance with her all night. She patted him on the back, “Better luck next time, Milton.”

MG rolled his eyes at her, not wanting her pity. He left her on her own to chase after the pair, just to make sure nothing happened to the siphoner. 

Josie relished in being by herself for a moment before she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and was met with vibrant green-eyes.

“Looking pretty lonely here, Teddy.”

Josie was flustered for a second, before finding herself, “Ah hey! Yeah, MG, Hope, and Liz just left for the dancefloor.”

“Hope dancing? That’s a sight.”

“I know, Lizzie dragged her against her will. I kind of feel bad for her.”

“I don’t. Now I have you to myself,” Penelope confessed. 

Josie didn’t know how to respond to that, unable to differentiate between flirting and teasing. It sounded like flirting, but knowing their history, she was most likely teasing. She just cleared her throat and sipped her drink, “Are you having a good time? I’m pretty sure this party was specifically for you.”

“I am now that I’m talking to you,” Penelope smiled, “But we should probably go somewhere privater if we’re gonna talk, don’t want people thinking we’re friends, especially your sister.” She used their secret as a means to get the girl alone and she wasn’t ashamed about it. 

She laced her hands in the brunette’s and dragged her towards the stairs without much protest. She briefly looked over her shoulder to make sure the girl was okay. She caught the girl’s gaze linger on her lower back before realizing they had stopped and she snapped her eyes back up. Penelope smirked, having caught the girl checking her out, and continued until they reached the surprisingly empty rooftop.

“Are you having a good time?” Penelope asked, not letting go of her hand even as she magically conjured up a bed and blanket so they could be comfortable. 

“I think so,” Josie replied, “I’m not sober but I’m not too buzzed either.”

“Anything I could do to make it better?” She watched as Josie fiddled with their intertwined hands before looking up shyly.

“Can we cuddle? It’s cold,” Josie shivered, silently regretting her outfit choice. 

Penelope brought their hands to her lips and kissed the back of the girl’s hand affectionately. She led them to the bed and sat against the wall, guiding the girl between her legs so she could lean her back against her front. Once the girl was situated, she draped the blanket over them and wrapped her arms around the girl. With her chin resting on the girl’s shoulder, she was surrounded by the scent of her cocoa butter shampoo.

“Better?”

Josie nodded against her and tightened her hold the girl’s arms. “I might fall asleep like this.”

“Please don’t. I’ve been waiting all night to talk to you.”

“You have?”

“Don’t act surprised, I’ve been watching you all night, flirting with Hope,” she scoffed.

“You’re such a creep,” Josie teased, “and I was not flirting with Hope.”

“Looked like it, but let’s not talk about her.”

“Okay, then what do you want to talk about,” Josie said, reveling in how safe and content she felt in the moment. 

“How about the revolution? As much as I’ll miss our sessions, I think you’re ready.” 

Penelope had been wondering when the girl was gonna talk to her dad for a while now. She was gonna be sad when their sessions were over, but she also couldn’t wait to see the smile on the girl’s face when her dad finally listened.

“You think I’m ready?” Josie asked insecurely. Deep down she knew she’d mastered Penny’s spells but she was always unsure of herself. 

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Penelope reassured. “You’re an amazing witch and I can’t wait for your dad to realize it.”

“That’s if he doesn’t suspend me for practicing forbidden spells.”

Penelope chuckled, knowing it was possible and gently kissed the girl’s shoulder.

“But, if you think I’m ready, then I guess I’ll do it soon. I’m just kind of nervous that’s all.”

“Don’t be nervous, Jojo. I’ll be holding your hand the entire time, figuratively speaking anyway,” the raven-haired witch promised. 

Josie turned her body a little so it was easier to look the girl in the eyes. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Make me feel so safe and comfortable and confident,” she admitted. “Is it weird that we’ve only known each other for a few weeks but I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.” 

Perhaps it was the alcohol or the moment or the truth, but she couldn’t stop her mouth from moving. She hoped the girl didn’t take what she confessed in a bad way, or worse, didn’t feel the same way. When the green-eyed girl took a beat too long to respond and just stared back, she visibly cringed and shyed away from her gaze.  _ Stupid alcohol, _ she berated herself. 

She was about to change the subject when she felt the girl place a gentle hand on her cheek. 

Penelope looked deep into her eyes, unable to look away. She felt everything the girl described and more. She didn’t want to wait any longer. 

She couldn’t.

Not when the girl was looking up at her with beautiful doe eyes, wrapped up in her arms, under the stars in the most perfect and warm moment she’d been waiting all night for. When she noticed the girl start to shy away from her, she moved closer and cupped her cheek, wanting nothing more in the world than to feel those pouty lips on hers. Without taking her eyes off of them, she whispered, “Same”, and leaned in a bit, wanting to make sure it was okay first. 

When Josie didn’t move away, Penelope slowly closed the distance and their lips met in the sweetest kiss that sent her heart swooning.

 

 

_ Penelope was falling. _

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for all the nice words of encouragement! They really do inspire me to write more, especially in the midst of this Posie drought. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought of the chapter and I'll be tweeting when I update @posiebby.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a new transfer student at the Salvatore Boarding School.

 

 

Penelope was starting to grow frustrated.

She’s been searching the entire school from top to bottom for a particular brown-haired witch since the moment she woke up. 

With no luck. As usual.

She was starting to grow desperate. After their kiss on the old mill's rooftop, they were rudely interrupted by Josie’s friend MG. She's never wanted to kill someone so bad before.

Since their lips touched last night, Penelope has been teetering between anger for the vampire and affection for Josie. She wanted nothing more than to confess her feelings for her last night, in hopes of having them returned. Sadly she didn't get the chance, because when MG barged in on them, Josie fled with him. Maybe she was embarrassed? Of almost being caught?

Surely it wasn't because the girl didn't enjoy the kiss.

The moment their lips touched, she felt  _ it _ . They weren't making out or anything, it was just a sweet and innocent touch of lips and yet it  _ consumed _ her.

And she knew Josie felt it too. How could she not have?

And that’s why she was so frustrated. The uncertainty was eating away at her but she wasn’t afraid to put herself out there. That was just the Park in her. 

She checked every single room she knew Josie would most likely be: the school library (first and foremost), the kitchen, the dining hall, the gym, and nothing. She would have checked the girl’s room, but she didn’t know where it was (yet). 

It was starting to feel like the girl was avoiding her. But she was probably overthinking it.

She was in such a rush, she almost ran over one of her peers. When she lifted her gaze to apologize, she was met with familiar blue eyes. 

“Careful!” Hope barked, not knowing who collided into her. She cradled the bouquet of flowers in her hand protectively, making sure it wasn't damaged.

“Hope?”

Hope lifted her gaze to meet whoever she bumped into and was surprised to find her friend, “Oh, hey P!”

Penelope smiled and casted a peek at the flower bouquet Hope was attempting to hide behind her back like she didn't already see it. “So,” she raised her eyebrows curiously, “flowers?”

Hope deflated and gave up hiding the flowers, “What about it, Park?”

Penelope couldn't help but notice the permanent smile on the girl’s face and figured it definitely wasn't because they ran into each other. It was most likely linked to the bouquet. She grinned deviliously, “Nothing, but are you really not gonna tell your best friend who the flowers are for?” She crossed her arms challengingly. 

“Fine, if you have to be so nosy, I'm asking to escort one of the Miss Mystic Falls contestants to the pageant.” 

“Isn’t it weird to ask someone to be their escort? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

“Well yeah but heaven knows she’d never actually ask me. And it’s my junior year, if I don’t make a move now, I’ll never get my chance.”

“I guess but you still didn’t answer my initial question.”

Hope crossed her arms defiantly and shook her head, “Nope not spilling who they’re for, but you'll probably find out soon.”

Penelope just huffed in response, not understanding why she was being so secretive about her crush. She noticed the girl chew on her lips and recognized it as her nervous tick.

“Shit, I'm so nervous, P. I've been in love with this girl since freshman year. Probably even before that if I'm being honest. What if she says no?”

Penelope has only seen Hope this nervous about a girl once before and it surprised her how taken she was by this mysterious girl. She placed a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder, “How could anyone resist you? She’d have to be crazy to not like you. You're a Mikaelson, act like it.”

Hope smiled gratefully, her nerves already starting to dissipate. Penelope’s charisma was starting to rub off on her and she was starting to feel courageous again.

“Thanks for the pep talk, Park!”

The girl was off before Penelope could even reply. It was so weird to see Hope so  unhinged. It was definitely a sight to see. She was also extremely curious to find out who held so much power over the tribrid. 

_ Guess she'll find out soon. _

She looked around for a moment in a daze before remembering what she was doing beforehand.

_ Shit, she should have asked Hope if she'd seen Josie! _

Penelope berated herself before moving forward, interrogating every single person she came across on Josie’s whereabouts.

_ She’s gotta be somewhere. _   
  


 

_. . . _

  
  
  


She promises she’s not intentionally avoiding Penelope, that’s just the way it’s been working out.

Okay who was she kidding, maybe she was....

She just didn’t know how to face the girl after...last night. 

Blood rushed to her face. _ Last night _ . She shook her head to rid herself of thoughts about the raven-haired witch. She couldn’t fall asleep last night because she couldn’t stop thinking about kissing and cuddles and…  _ Penelope Park _ . 

And now she’s thinking about it again.  _ Great. _

Don’t get her wrong, that wasn’t her first kiss or anything. And those kisses were great (sans her first one, which still makes her cringe), but  _ that _ kiss was mind blowing. 

And a little scary.

She’d never felt that much in a single, innocent kiss and it freaked her out. Still does. She’d never thought of the girl in that way before, at least that’s what she previously thought. She never once thought of kissing those lips until they were an inch away from hers and suddenly there was nothing in the world she wanted more. Then she thinks back to all those moments alone at the old mill, at the library, at the school garden, in the girl’s room and she can’t help but think, _how_ _could she have been so oblivious?_

Penelope and her were bubbling to the brim with undeniable chemistry and it should’ve raised a red flag when she knew her favorite part of the day was seeing the girl. She probably didn’t notice her feelings because they had only known each other for a few weeks, but like she confessed last night, it really did feel like they knew each other their whole lives.

There were still so many questions she had for herself and if she were to see the girl again ill prepared, she might combust on the spot. 

No, she couldn’t see the girl yet. Not until she figures out what she is feeling exactly and how she should deal with it.

And so yes, she was avoiding Penelope...but with good reason.

She had just managed to sneak around the corner out of sight when she saw Penelope enter the hallway, only to bump into something warm.

“Oof you okay? I didn’t see you there,” Josie sputtered out of habit before realizing who it was she bumped into. “Hope?”

“Oh-, hey Josie!” Hope greeted nervously.

Josie’s eyes automatically focused down to the bouquet in the girl’s hand. She grinned mischievously, “Sooo who’s the lucky person?”

Hope cleared her throat nervously, “Uh, well, you.” She outstretched her hand to give the girl the bouquet hoping she accepts it.

“Me?” She took the bouquet and smiled in surprise.

“Uh yeah if that’s okay. I was wondering if you need an escort for the pageant? If you do, I would love to take you.” She couldn’t help but find the girl beautiful when she brought the roses to her face and smelt them with a genuine smile.

“This is so sweet,” Josie grinned, “and yes, I would love to have you as my escort.” She felt so grateful to have someone like Hope in her life.

She was actually really worried about finding an escort knowing her sister would have no problem finding one for herself. She was initially going to ask Penelope but with everything that happened last night and all these unanswered questions, she didn’t think it would be smart to ask her without knowing where they stood yet.

“I feel so special. You don’t know how much this takes off my shoulder,” she patted the girl’s shoulder in appreciation.

Hope was grinning from ear to ear, so much so that it was starting to hurt. She already couldn’t wait till pageant day. She promised herself that that would be the day she confesses her feelings and hopefully, have them reciprocated back. 

_ Now, to charm the shit out of her. _

  
  
  


.  . .

  
  
  


“Teddy!”

Penelope was losing hope. She was officially starting to believe the girl was avoiding her and it was driving her crazy. And now, she’s resorted to yelling like a lunatic in the front lawn. 

_ Screw everyone who was staring; they were no help anyway.  _

She was about to give up on her search when out of nowhere she felt someone jump on her back.

“P!”

Penelope threw her assailant off her back and turned around with the biggest smile on her face. She would recognized that voice anywhere.

“Dav?” She caught the girl as she jumped in her arms and twirled her around. “What are you doing here?”

Davina pulled back and gave her best friend a toothy grin, “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“Of course, idiot! But really, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you in New Orleans?” She couldn’t believe the girl was standing in front of her. The last time she physically saw her was on the day she left for Mystic Falls, saying their goodbyes. She remembered the girl crying in her arms and having to comfort the girl with whispered reassurances. 

“I transferred. Per your mother’s orders,” Davina explained.

“Shit, things must be really bad back home,” Penelope cringed. 

“I may have begged her a little but yeah, everyone’s going crazy. Your mom’s doing her best to control the witches, but she’s got her arms filled.”

Penelope didn’t know what to say except “Wow.” You’d think her own mother would update her on the crisis back home, but no, she hasn’t heard a peep. Not like she really cared anymore, now that her friend was in Mystic Falls.

“Yeah, it’s a good thing she transferred you when she did.”

“Well shit,” Penelope muttered, “is it weird I still can’t believe you’re here?” She still couldn’t wrap her head around it, eager to go back to her room and interrogate the girl on everything she missed. 

“Not really and how about we take this inside?” 

“Of course,” Penelope replied, grabbing one of Davina’s bags and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “You’re totally gonna hate it here.”

“Am I?”

They were at the entrance door when Penelope overheard a couple of students gossiping. She heard one of them mention Josie’s name and she immediately tuned in to their conversation. 

“I can’t believe Hope’s taking her to the pageant. You’d think she’d ask the prettier Saltzman, right?” one of girl’s snarked, causing her group of friends to laugh. She was about to comment on something else but didn’t get the chance to because Penelope had her by the collar.

The snarky girl’s eyes widened when she recognized the witch.

“I’m gonna ask you some questions and you’re gonna answer me, okay?” When the girl didn’t respond right away, she tightened her hold, “okay?”

The girl and her friends nodded frantically in response.

“What were you saying about Hope?”

“Um she just asked one of the twins to the pageant,” the girl stuttered out.

“Oh, she did? And which twin? The prettier one?” Penelope snarled. If the girl so much as hints that Josie was in any way lesser than Lizzie, she doesn’t think she’d be able to control herself. 

“Um, no,” the girl forced out in fear. There was just something evil quivering in the raven-haired witch’s voice that told her her answer would mean life or death. " Josie. She asked Josie Saltzman to the pageant.”

“Wrong answer,” Penelope smirked and muttered a spell that enveloped just the pair in deafening darkness.

She watched as the girl shivered uncontrollably from the intense cold. She tried to scream but couldn’t because her lips were bound by spell.

Penelope lost her smirk and tightened her hold on the girl's collar so hard, she ripped the fabric, “Don’t ever disrespect Josie ever again.” Her eyes darkened, “If you so much as utter Josie’s name again, I will make sure to rip your tongue out. Got it?”

The girl shook her head in response, not wanting to anger the girl anymore than she already is.

With one final look, she dropped the girl and the darkness spell dissipated.

The girl’s friends immediately crouched down to check on the girl as she shrivelled up and broke down in tears.

Penelope just smiled, said her thanks, and walked back to an amused Davina Claire.

“Jesus, what'd you do to the girl?”

“She was making fun of a friend so I just told her not to do it again,” Penelope reasoned. She was still trying to contain her anger.

She was grabbing the luggage she dropped earlier and was about to head to her room with Davina when she actually realized what the girl had said about Hope.

She dropped the luggage and her eyes widened. 

 

_ Hope asked Josie to the pageant. _

 

Her heart dropped as the realization settled in.

 

_ Hope asked her crush. Josie is Hope’s crush. _

 

_ Hope is in love with Josie. _

 

_ Shit.  _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for such a late update! the last three weeks of school are killing me already. 
> 
> anyway, hope you guys liked the chapter! i promise things are gonna start to pick up now that Davina is here. 
> 
> side note: is anyone else nervous about Josie's potential love interests in S2 because I honestly don't know what I'm going to do if she forgets about Penelope? I'm already dreading it!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope's got a dilemma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! (Yes, you can kill me, but only after you read the chapter.) 
> 
> Sorry for such a long ass wait. There's literally no excuse except that I had no motivation or inspiration to continue until now. 
> 
> Just doing my part and trying to keep the fandom alive until Penelope Park returns.

Hope confirmed it for her.

 

_She's in love with Josie Saltzman._

 

It’s already been a week since she found out but her heart still drops at the thought. She hates thinking about it but it lingers like a horrible stench.

 

She’s finally found the girl of her dreams and she can’t have her. Not when her competition’s Hope Mikaelson. Hope, who was there for her when she needed someone the most. Hope, who was there for her even when Jed and Davina weren’t. Hope, who was in every way, but romantic, her soulmate. 

 

So no, it doesn’t matter how much she’s fallen for Josie, doesn’t matter how much she _craves_ her, she would never pursue her as long as Hope had her eyes on her too. Hope means too much to her and she deserves every bit of happiness.

 

Plus, how could she ever compete with the tribrid? She may be better in magic but she could never be as selfless and beautiful as Hope. Deep down she knew that Hope and Josie were perfect for each other. They’re both smart, beautiful, kind, and passionate. And if Josie knew about all the horrible things she’s done in the past, she was sure the girl would never look at her the same. People like her don't deserve to be with people like Josie. She just has to accept that.

 

It still hurts. 

 

How had she not notice before _? God, she’s an idiot._ Why didn't Hope say anything? If she had, maybe she could have saved herself from the heartbreak. 

 

Then again, for some reason, she doesn’t think she could have changed anything because she has a feeling she would have crossed paths with the girl at some point in time. And she knew without a doubt, she would have fell for the girl just as fast. 

 

It was pathetic.

 

Amidst all of these thoughts, one has been haunting her the most. She doesn't like to think about it but it keeps popping up in her head. 

 

_Since Josie said yes to Hope, does that mean she likes her?_

 

She genuinely thought Josie was into _her_ . I mean, that _kiss_ . That damn _heart-stopping, mind-blowing kiss_. She had to have felt something. 

Then again, she did run away after. 

 

No, she must’ve felt it because she could feel it deep down. She felt it when they first made eye contact at the old mill. She felt it when the girl siphoned from her during their first lesson. She definitely felt it during their kiss. And she still feels it every single time she's in the same room as the girl. They have an undeniable connection.

 

Not like it would change anything. Josie Saltzman is officially off-limits.

 

She’s just having a hard time reminding her heart. 

 

She’s shamelessly resorted to avoiding all contact with the girl for the past week because just the sight of her sends her heart spiraling. Penelope feels bad because she can tell she's hurting Josie. All those ignored texts and one-sided stares. It hurts her to see her hurt.

 

She will never forgive herself for hurting the girl but it's just something she’s going to have to live with.

 

“Are you seriously going to ignore me again?” Davina snapped her fingers in front of Penelope’s face. She’s been trying to get the girl’s attention for the past 20 minutes but she was obviously in her own world. “Pay attention to me! I didn’t fly all the way here for you to ignore me. You’re suppose to love me!” When the raven-haired witch still didn’t respond, she cast a spell to shock the girl and got a loud yelp in response.

 

“Fucking Christ, Dav! Warn a witch,” Penelope shoved Davina’s shoulder and watched in false annoyance as she dramatically fell back against the bed. 

 

“I need some love and affection, P,” Davina whined. She sat back up and gave her most convincing pout.

 

Penelope rolled her eyes at the girl’s antics, “Well, you’ve got it now. What do you want?”

 

“I want to know what’s got you in this mood.”

 

“What mood?”

 

“This sulky mood!” Davina exclaimed. “You’re like lost in your own world and it’s obnoxiously depressing.”

 

“I’m not in a _mood_. And no, it’s not important nor is it any of your business,” Penelope snarked.

 

“So you admit, you are in a mood,” Davina smirked.

 

“Just shut up and let it go.”

 

Davina shook her head, “You’ve been acting weird this whole week and I demand to know why.”

 

“You’re in no position to demand anything, asshole. My room, my rules.”

 

“But-,” Davina starts but is rudely interrupted by her friend.

 

“My room, my rules.”

 

“Jesus, fine. You’ve got a huge stick up your ass right now,” Davina scoffed. “But can you please give me some of your time. I didn’t come all the way here to be ignored by you.”

 

“It’s not like you had a choice,” Penelope quipped.

 

“Shut up, you know what I mean.”

 

Penelope felt bad so she hugged the girl beside her and sighed, “I know, I’m sorry I’m being an ass. It’s just things are so messed up right now.”

 

“You know you can talk to me, P. About anything.”

 

“I know,” Penelope breathed out, “it’s not that I don’t want to tell you. It’s just that I don’t... I don’t want to talk about it. It’s just going to hurt more and there really is no use to it.” 

 

“When you’re ready,” Davina replied. She was starting to grow really worried about her friend. She’s never seen her so… out of it. Whatever was troubling the girl, Davina was certain she would figure it out and fix it so that Penelope would feel better. The girl had already been through so much and she didn’t want anymore burdens on her shoulder. If there was anyone in this world that deserves to be happy, it was Penelope.

 

Penelope pulled away from the hug to throw a pillow at Davina’s face, “Enough of this sappy shit, what did you want to talk about?”

 

“Wha- Oh right, I asked you a question. Where’s Hope been? Last I saw her was when we arrived, but she’s been MIA since.”

 

The mention of Hope caught her by surprise but she quickly recovered with a smirk, “Missing your boo?”

 

Davina slapped the back of Penelope’s head defensively, “She’s not my boo and I’m just worried. She’s been crazy busy, hanging around that Saltzman girl literally all the time. Like, what’s their deal?”

 

“Why don’t you just ask her?”

 

Davina groaned, “I would but I actually think she’s avoiding me.”

 

“That hasn’t stopped you before,” Penelope reasoned, “and I don’t blame her, you did break her heart.”

 

 “We were like 12 and that honestly wasn’t my fault! If only she wasn’t so stubborn.”

 

“I swear she’s only like that with you. For some reason, you used to always get under her skin,” Penelope wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. She didn’t realize how much she missed teasing the girl until now.

 

“Yeah, well now she’s got _Jonna_ under her skin,” Davina said in disgust. 

 

“Her name’s _Josie_.”

 

Davina dismissed her correction, “Jonna, Josie, doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Hope’s been avoiding me and I don’t know how to get her attention with Miss Pageant in the way.”

 

Penelope sighed, knowing what she was about to say wouldn’t be received well, “I know you love her, Dav. But, she loves Josie now and she deserves to finally be happy after all the bullshit she’s been through.” She watched as her friend’s head hung low in defeat, “So unless she shows interest, please don’t come between them,” she pleaded. She placed a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder, who looked like her heart was being ripped from her chest. “I’m really sorry, Dav.”

 

Davina closed her eyes for a moment, “Don’t be. I know you’re right.” She opened her teary eyes and let out a huge sigh, “I just thought things would be different now that we’re in the same place again. But if she loves this Josie girl, then I have no right to barge into her life after 5 years.”

 

Penelope pulled her into a heartfelt hug for comfort and kissed her forehead. She felt the girl shake in her grasp a little. “Still sucks, huh?”

 

She heard a muffled, “Yeah,” against her skin and tightened her hold. 

 

She was about to kiss the girl’s forehead again when she heard a loud series of coughs at her door, just now realizing it was left wide open. She wasn’t expecting the girl of her dreams to be standing in the hallway, nor was she expecting the flurry of butterflies that swarmed her chest. She thought she would be used to it by now, but it still hits her every single time. 

 

Josie’s cheeks burned red as she watched the pair hug intimately on the bed. The same exact bed that Penelope and her stayed cuddled up in just last week. She coughed nervously, not expecting the other witch to be here, especially not in that position, “Uh- sorry, th-this must be a bad time,” she stuttered out. She internally berated herself for how stupid she sounded and was immediately ready to make a run for it before she finally got a response from the raven-haired witch.

 

“Josie?” Penelope awkwardly unraveled her arms from around Davina and nervously fixed her shirt, “You um needed something?”

 

Josie looked between Penelope and Davina, and then back at Penelope before answering, “I-uh-was wondering if we could talk.” She paused for a short beat before realizing her intrusion, “but, if it’s like not a good time, I could -uh- come back another time or when you’re free. Anytime really is fine with me.”

 

She watched as the girl at the door pulled nervously at her sweater and couldn’t help but smile at how fucking adorable she is. She realized she didn’t answer back when she saw the girl’s face fall and she quickly sat up to reply, “Yeah yeah, of course.”

 

_So much for avoiding the girl._

 

Penelope looked questioningly at Davina after second thought, “Is that okay?” She leaned in closer to whisper, “I know I said I’d spend more time with you.”

 

Davina waved, “Don’t worry about it. But I get to steal you away tomorrow, deal?” She lifted her pinky finger between their bodies, waiting.

 

“Deal,” Penelope promised, hooking their pinkies together to seal it. 

 

With their pinkies still crossed, Davina leaned into Penelope’s ear and whispered, “Keep this witch busy, I’m gonna hunt down Hope while she’s free.” She smirked and jumped up from the bed, heading toward the door.

 

“Hey! You’re supposed to be keeping away from her. You promised!” she whisper yelled.

 

Davina turned around on her way out the door and gave a devilish smirk, “Don’t worry, I just want to talk.” With one last wave goodbye to the pair of witches, she left the room in search for the tribrid.

 

Penelope watched as her friend left, in a daze, unsure how to handle the situation at hand. She heard Josie clear her throat and snapped out of her haze.

 

“Are you sure this is a good time,” Josie asked cautiously, slowly stepping into the room.

 

“Um yeah, sorry,” she shook her head and looked down at her hands in her lap, “I’ve just been out of it lately.”

 

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?”

 

Penelope snapped her head up at the girl, finding the girl staring deeply into her eyes. “Wha-“

 

“I haven’t seen you all week. You haven’t answered my text or calls,” Josie lowered her gaze, suddenly feeling embarrassed and vulnerable. _It’s obvious she’s trying to let you down easy._

 

Penelope was speechless. She wasn’t prepared to see Josie this early nor could she even think about what to say in response.

 

“It’s about the kiss, right?”

 

When Penelope doesn’t respond, Josie figures she guessed right.

 

“It’s okay. We can forget about it,” Josie could feel tears threatening to fall, “Just pretend it didn’t happen so we can go back to how it was before.”

 

Penelope couldn’t bear to see the girl cry and pulled her onto her lap to hug her. She tightened her hold on the girl when she felt wetness on her neck. 

 

She felt the girl mumble, “I missed you,” against her skin and fought back tears of her own.

 

“Hey, I’m right here,” Penelope reassured. “Why are you crying?” she whispered against the girl’s hair. She felt the girl hiccup and shake against her and pulled her back slightly to see her face clearly. When the girl continued to hiccup and avoid her eye contact, she leaned in and asked again, “Why are you crying, JoJo?”

 

Josie’s shoulder’s shook as she tried to regain her composure, mumbling a weak, “I don’t know.”

 

Penelope reached up to brush the strands of hair that fell over her eyes and wiped the tear stains on her cheek. She took the time to look the girl over and felt her heart swell with affection. She gave a cheeky smile, “Why is that even when you cry you look like a teddy bear? Like how is that even possible?” She pinched the girl’s cheek, earning her a small, shy smile. 

 

The brown-eyed witch swatted the girl’s hand in false annoyance. “Stop,” she whined, which made Penelope’s smile grow bigger. She snuggled back into the girl’s chest, missing the warmth and smell of evergreen trees and mint. 

 

Penelope hoped the girl couldn’t hear her racing heart, but thought the risk was well worth it. With the girl of her dreams in her arms in the safety of her room, she allowed herself a mere second to drown herself in it one last time, before remembering her resolution. It took everything in her to pull away.

 

Feeling a little better, Josie finally spoke up, “I guess, I don’t know. I’m just lonely I guess. Dad’s been busy running the school. Lizzie’s chasing some new witch. You’ve been ignoring me.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Penelope winced. She didn’t really know what to say without giving the truth away. “I’ve just...been busy getting Davina acclimated to the school. She’s not used to being around supernatural beings other than witches.”

 

“Davina? The girl you were hugging earlier?”

 

Penelope scratched her head, feeling uncomfortable for some reason, “Yeah, she just transferred from New Orleans. We went to school together.”

 

“Oh, cool.” Sheʻd definitely see the pair around school, looking pretty chummy. 

 

“Yeah, she actually went to school with Hope too before she came here. They used to be pretty close.”

 

“Not anymore?”

 

Penelope shrugged, “They just fell out of it, I guess.”

 

The pair of witches sat in silence, not knowing how to continue their conversation. Things were still pretty awkward and unclear between the pair and they were both overthinking the situation. Penelope was the first to speak up.

 

“I’m sorry,” Penelope looked up into brown eyes, “for avoiding you all week.”

Josie could feel the girl’s sincerity in her eyes and had a hard time hiding her blush, “It’s okay. But next time just talk to me. You know you can tell me anything.” 

 

“I know,” she sighed, “I just didn’t want to bother you. You’ve been pretty busy this past week with Hope and the pageant and I just didn’t want to stress you out even more.” She pulled the girl back into her lap, holding her close to her chest. It was too difficult to resist the urge. If she couldn’t pursue the girl, then she would take friends as second best. She knew she was setting herself up for torture, but it was better than not having her in her life at all. 

 

“How’d you know? I don’t remember telling you she’s my escort.”

 

She gave the girl a cheeky smile, “Word travels fast with the supernatural. Of course everyone is talking about how Saltzman number 1 is officially off the market.”

 

Josie blushed and dismissed her, “Itʻs not like that.”

 

“Yeah, sure.”

 

Josie lightly punched her in the shoulder, “I’m serious! It’s not like that.”

 

Penelope gave a teasing grin, “Well then, what is it like?” She watched as Josie stumbled over her thoughts for a few seconds.

 

“She was asking me as a friend,” Josie explained, “She knows I have a hard time putting myself out there and I was really stressing over finding an escort.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me this?” Penelope was a little distraught at the thought that Josie couldn’t confide in her. 

 

“Well,” Josie was about to say something but stopped in ponderance, “well, I guess I just forgot everytime you’re with me. Yeah, I’m not sure why.”

 

Penelope reached over to grab the girl’s hand, “well next time, you just tell me. I could have found you a date.” _Like me._

 

Josie smiled at the gesture, “Fine, next time.” She snuggled back into the raven-haired girl’s chest, reveling in the warmth. “I’m glad Hope asked me. She’s been a great sport about everything, with the practices, workshops and everything. She’s incredible!”

 

Penelope felt her heart drop a beat before finding herself again. She replied, “She really is incredible.” And she really meant it. She believed from the bottom of her heart that there really was no one better for Josie than Hope. 

 

They stayed snuggled together on Penelope’s bed, just holding each other and reveling in each other’s warmth for the first time in weeks. They talked about a whole bunch of things, catching up on the time they’ve lost since their first kiss.

They spent the night in that same position, too comfortable to move and too much in their own bubble to care.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is! Penelope is an idiot and Josie's just caught up in this big mess. I've got CH 11 written up but I want to finish CH 12 before I publish it. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> Sidenote: I really do think Jandon is a logical couple and was bound to happen with Hope not there. I think I would genuinely ship them if Penelope didn't exist. It literally hurts my heart to see Penelope gone. 
> 
> On another note, WHY COULDN'T "BETTER TOGETHER" BE POSIE'S SONG???  
> UGHHHHH


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's game day! Also, Penelope is an idiot, wbk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! Haven't finished CH 12 like I said I would but it's coming together. Enjoy!

It was the final quarter of the game and both teams were neck and neck in a tie. The Green team had dominated the first half completely, scoring against Yellow’s keeper Catra Horde a few dozen times before Yellow finally got a grip in the second half.

 

The crowd roared as Yellow intercepted and Josie had to cover her ears. 

 

Honestly, she was never a fan of wickery or more like, the idea of hundreds of monstrous fans yelling in each other’s ears and throwing food around like savages, but she coped with it for Lizzie. And now, Penelope too. 

 

She couldn’t keep her eyes off of Penelope in those damn green jersey shorts, amazed at the way it seemed to bring out her emerald eyes. A few dozen times, Hope had to nudge her towards the ball because Josie just couldn’t keep her eyes off her girl.  _ Her girl _ . She couldn’t help but giggle abashedly to herself, before realizing that Penny was nowhere near being  _ her girl _ . 

 

Maybe  _ Davina’s  _ girl, judging by how chummy Penny and her seem lately, she scoffed. Her eyes shifted lower in the crowd, towards the bottom of the bleachers where the girl in question was sitting with a group of Penelope’s  _ friends _ . 

 

She couldn’t help but scoff at what the girl was wearing: Penelope’s practicing jersey.  _ The audacity.  _

 

She was fighting the urge to light the girl’s hair on fire. 

 

Beneath her distaste for the girl’s attire, she was completely envious. Envious of the amount of time the girl was spending with Penelope (which consequently meant less time with her), envious of how much attention she’d managed to garner within such a short time, and especially envious of how close Penelope and Davina are. It wasn’t fair that the new witch in town had more time with the raven-haired witch. 

 

She may not have known the girl for long, but she knew the important stuff. Stuff like her favorite color and ice cream, what she learns in class, what she wants to do once she graduates and what she really thought about Jed’s new haircut. She  _ knows _ Penelope, but she’ll never know 12 year-old Penny or Penny in New Orleans, and that kills her. 

 

She was so lost in her thoughts that she got startled when Hope jumped from her seat beside her and yelled at the top of her lungs, “Get that bitch, P!”

 

Josie whipped her eyes back towards the field just in time to catch Penelope intercept the ball and take off towards Yellow’s keeper. 

 

Penelope knew she had it in the bag the moment she caught the ball in her hands. She sprinted towards the goal, racing against the clock, but not without sparing at glance at Josie (to make sure she was watching). With a single leap, she managed to get the ball through the hoop in time for the buzzer to signal the end of the match and the crowd erupted into cheers. She was immediately rushed by her teammates, who shook her and screamed in her ears like howling dogs. She couldn’t keep her smile off her face, high on the adrenaline of the moment. Even in the midst of the congratulating crowd that was starting to form around her, there was only one person she wanted to see. She was trying to find the girl amidst the growing crowd, trying to tiptoe as high as she could. She knew it was rude to ignore people, but she could care less at the moment. And in the distance, at the bottom of the bleachers, she caught sight of Josie’s space buns, and watched as the crowd magically split to give her a clearer view. Her smile grew as she saw Teddy’s grin, waiting for her to look her way.

 

But then, her view got bigger and she realized that Teddy was smiling at Hope.  _ With  _ Hope.

 

And  _ oh.  _

 

_ Right. _

 

Her smile dropped and she felt all the adrenaline drain from her body. 

 

She felt a hand on her shoulder, already knowing it was Jed, with a knowing grimace on his face. Penelope hadn’t told him she knew about Hope’s crush, she didn’t need to. He could just tell by the sour state the girl had been in since Hope’s escort proposal. 

 

She shook him off, as politely as she could, not liking the look of pity on the boy’s face. She shrugged, “I’m gonna go shower.” And with that, she walked off the field, ignoring Davina’s confused shouts (which Jed thankfully took care of). 

 

\------------

 

Penelope was exhausted. After she left the field, she went straight to the showers and then to her room before anyone had the chance to interrupt her. 

 

She half-heartedly dried her hair and plopped on her bed with a heavy sigh. It had been a long and draining day for her and she was ready to shut herself off from the world. Just as she was about to close her eyes for a quick nap, she heard three quiet knocks on her bedroom door. 

 

She let out a long groan, debating on just ignoring the unwanted guest, before relenting. With a lot of effort, she walked up to the door and opened it, extremely surprised to see Josie standing there with a meek smile. 

 

“Bad timing?” she whispered, noting the raven-haired girl’s tired eyes. 

 

Penelope grinned, all trace of sleep gone, “Never for you.” She let the girl inside, taking a seat on the bed next to her. 

 

“Did you leave early? I couldn’t find you on the field after the match.”

 

“I was just tired, I guess,” Penelope grimaced. She hated lying to the girl but that was just the price she had to pay. Penelope looked down at the girl’s lap, finally noticing the pie in the girl’s lap. 

 

Josie noticed where Penelope was looking and jumped a bit in her seat in remembrance, “Oh yeah!” Then she suddenly got a little sheepish. Penelope noted the blush on her cheeks starting to rise. “I made it. For you.” She lifted the pie up towards Penelope. 

 

“You made me a pie?” she questioned with a grin. She brought the pie to her face and she could already taste it. “Dutch apple,” she beamed. 

 

“Your favorite!”

 

Penelope looked at the girl with the affection that welled up inside her in disbelief, “I can’t believe you made me a pie.”

 

“Don’t be so surprised!” Josie remarked, “What better way to commemorate a win than a pie.”

 

Penelope shook her head with affection, “You’re something else, Josie Saltzman.” If she actually had control over her emotions, she probably could have stopped herself from leaning over and depositing a nice, short kiss on the girl’s rosy cheeks. As a thank you, of course. Falling in love with the way the girl’s eyes widened comically before feeling her cheeks grow even more red (if that was possible). 

 

Flustered, Josie muttered a quiet, “Your welcome,” before regaining her strength to say what had been on her mind the entire game. “I noticed your practice jersey looks particularly comfortable. Seems perfect for game days and stuff.”

 

Penelope looked at the girl amused, “My practice jersey?”

 

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Josie stuttered, “Y-yeah, I noticed Davina was wearing it at the match.”

 

Penelope grinned knowingly. “Yeah, she still doesn’t have anything to show school spirit yet so I let her borrow it,” Penelope’s  explained. She watched as the siphoner nodded to herself in understanding, probably trying to find a way to ask if she could wear it next match. “You can wear it next match if you like it so much,” Penelope suggested, “it’s the least I could do for the pie.”

 

Josie beamed up at the girl and exclaimed, “Really?!” before trying to regain her composure, “I mean, yeah, that sounds fair.”

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Penelope snickered.

 

Josie was offended and hit the girl on the shoulder, “Don’t make fun of me, you witch!”

 

Penelope yelped and didn’t stop laughing as she rubbed her shoulder, “Geez, Teddy, if you wanted to wear my jersey, you could have just asked you know.”

 

“You’re an idiot,” Josie teased, slightly embarrassed, and Penelope just looked at her incredulously.

 

“I can’t believe people think you’re the polite twin. You’re so mean!”

 

“I am not!” Josie argued, pushing the girl over and tickling her in her weak spots, not before setting the pie on the bed stand. 

 

Penelope cried out in laughter, trying to push away the girl despite how distracted she was. 

 

Penelope was incredibly ticklish and Josie was mean to exploit that secret knowledge. 

 

She couldn’t handle it, swiftly shifting her body weight to switch places with her assailant, her body now trapping the girl to the bed. Penelope had Josie’s wrist pinned with a victorious smirk. She doesn’t hear the tiny gasp the girl under her slipped out. Or the way her heart seems to be beating out of her chest. 

 

“Got you!” Penelope smirked in victory while she got her breath back. But, her smirk dropped a second later. She didn’t realize how intimate the position would be, with Josie looking up at her with hooded deep brown doe-eyes and her bottom lip caught beneath her teeth. She immediately climbed off of the girl and sat a good distance away, “You almost dropped the pie!” 

 

A few moments later, Josie sat up on the edge of the bed with a small smile, “I’m pretty sure that was you.” She scooted a little closer, until their knees were barely touching. She never liked being too far away from the girl. 

 

Penelope scoffed, “Definitely the mean twin.”

 

Josie just giggled, opting to lay her head on her friend’s shoulder instead of replying. She felt so content and safe, like she always did with Penelope. She intertwined her fingers with Penelope’s and placed them on her lap. 

 

They stayed like that for a few moments, until Josie got the courage to say what had been on her mind for a while.

 

“Do you think it’s weird how close we are?”

 

The moment being broken, Penelope looked down at the girl nestled against her shoulder, “What do you mean?”

 

“Is it weird how close we are? The sleepovers, the cuddling, the handholding?”

 

“Wha- where is this coming from?” Penelope could feel where this was going. And she didn’t like it.

 

“I don’t know. I’ve just been thinking about it.”

 

Penelope mulled it over, trying to figure out a good way to approach the question without going into dangerous territory. “Why would it be weird? Does it feel weird?” She slipped her hand out of the girl’s and closed her fist in her lap. Josie frowned at the action.

 

“Not at all. I don’t know, I like it.”  _ Love it, in fact.  _ Josie reached over to wrap the girl’s hand into hers, and placed them on her lap to make a statement. “I like holding your hand and cuddling and kissing your cheek,” she punctuated the fact by cheekily pecking the girl’s cheek and then hiding her red face into the girl’s neck. “Is it like this with all your friends?” she questioned meekly. 

 

“Are you asking if I cuddle with my other friends?” Penelope looked down at the girl to find her nodding yes. “Well,” Penelope paused, carefully finding her words, “not really. Sometimes with Davina, we cuddle. But, I don’t know.”

 

Josie fumbled with the girl’s fingers, “Does it feel the same when you’re with her?”

 

Penelope opted for being honest, no matter how revealing it may be. She didn’t have the courage to speak, so she just shook her head no. She couldn’t see it, but Josie’s smile reached from cheek to cheek.

 

She felt the girl lift her head up from her shoulder and was surprised to feel the girl’s lips against her warm cheeks. The older witch attacked Penelope with a series of quick kisses on the cheek, giggling senselessly between pecks. Overwhelmed, the raven haired-witch fell back on the bed and tried to push the girl away playfully to no help, “Jojo, stop!” 

 

She heard a muffled “no,” against her cheek before Josie’s lips started making their way down her neck. Penelope’s heart was racing super fast and she could feel that undeniable heat make its way down her body. She had to stop this before she did something she would regret.

 

“Josette, stop! What are you doing?? What would your girlfriend think if she saw this?”

 

Josie stopped her attacks, gobsmacked, “Wha- girlfriend?”

 

Penelope nodded her head insistently, “Yes, your girlfriend. I don’t think she’ll like knowing you’re kissing someone else.”

 

“But I don’t have a girlfriend.”

 

“Hope,” Penelope raised her eyebrows. “You know, your date.” 

 

Josie gave Penelope a weird look, “Hope’s not my girlfriend. You know this.”

 

“I know, but it’s about time. You guys are perfect for each other!” She wasn’t lying, but she had to bite back the bile that was making its way up. 

 

“Really? Hope Mikaelson?” Josie asked incredulously. 

 

“Yes, Hope Mikaelson. Legendary tribrid, hottest girl on campus (sans you), ring a bell?”

 

“I know who you’re talking about, and you know it's not like that.”

 

“Why not? You’re guys are perfect for each other. You’re both kind and selfless and amazing.”

 

“But you’re kind and selfless and amazing, too,” Josie mumbled beneath her breath. 

 

Penelope waved her off, “You know what I mean. And didn’t you say you had a crush on her?”

 

“That was before-,” Josie stuttered.  _ Before you.  _

 

“Well, you’ve felt it before, I’m sure it’ll come back.”

 

Something she said must have offended Josie because the air in the room grew hot as the girl pulled back.

 

“Come back? I just told you it’s not like that,” Josie bit, her frustration clearly apparent. “I’m not interested in Hope. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

 

Penelope had no idea what she did to earn this attitude, “Why are you so adamant about not seeing her that way? She’s amazing.”

 

Josie was fuming, “Just leave it alone. If you think she’s so amazing, you be with her.”

 

Penelope was just so confused, “Why are you so stubborn?”

 

Josie whipped her fiery gaze towards the girl beside her and stood up, “Stubborn? I’m stubborn? You’re such an idiot, Penelope! A buffoon!”

 

“ _Buffoon_??”

 

She stomped her way towards the door, throwing back one last angry look, seething out, “Enjoy your damn pie,” before throwing the door open to find a surprised Davina Claire. 

 

Josie gave the girl a once over, scoffing as she noticed that she was still wearing Penelope’s jersey. She brushed past the bewildered new witch and stomped her way back to her room.

 

Penelope was baffled. She’d never seen the girl so spiteful and as hot as it was (cause  _ goddamn, she was so attractive _ ), she was still completely confused, and worried.

 

“Jesus, what’s her problem?” Davina asked, closing the door behind her and taking a leisure seat on the desk chair. “Ouhh, pie!”

 

Penelope immediately slapped her hand away and gave her a warning glare, “That's mine!”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... what did ya'll think? My grammar is terrible lately but I'm just trying to push out chapters till the story is complete. I have so much ideas and I'm not sure if they're meshing well in the story, if you get what I mean. 
> 
> Also I can't wait to publish CH 12, my favorite chapter so far
> 
> Stay tuned, witches!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! A bit longer chapter than usual. 
> 
> (Please don't kill me after this chapter)

 

Josie gleefully skipped out of the Headmaster’s office with an unbelievable smile on her face. 

She could not believe what had just happened. Somehow, despite his obvious reluctancy, she managed to convince her dad to implement _some_ offensive magic classes into the school’s curriculum. And while it wasn’t entirely what she wanted, she wasn’t going to be discouraged and took what she could. She knew better than to ask too much of him anyway. 

Her first instinct was to tell someone, but when the first person that popped in her head was _She Who Shall Not Be Named_ , she cringed inwardly.

Now she was sad and annoyed, and she felt the joy drain from the top of her head to the tips of her toe. In her slouched, drained state, she somehow made it to MG’s room, passing his open door and fell onto the brown-haired boy’s bed with a plop, facedown.  

MG silently watched the girl in amusement as she slowly dragged herself into the room and dropped on his bed. When the girl didn’t say anything, he winced and readied himself to comfort her, “Guessing it didn’t go well?” 

It took a while before Josie had enough energy to respond, settling for a mumbled, “It went great.” 

MG furrowed his brows and swiveled his desk chair closer to the bed, “Great? Then why the sour mood?” He shook the girl playfully, earning a muffled grunt in response.   

She turned her head around and pouted, “Penelope Park.”

“Ah,” MG’s eyebrows rose and patted her back in understanding, “did you tell her the good news?” 

With a huff, she shook her head no and moved to sit up on the bed and pulling her knees to her chest, hugging them close, “I want to, but I’m too embarrassed to see her after I got mad at her.” 

“You do know she’s been trying to talk to you since that night? She won’t stop bugging me.”

“I know, but how can I face her? She probably thinks I’m crazy!” Josie hid her face behind her knees in shame. “She’s infuriating! Why can’t she just take a hint?”

“She probably won’t know unless you tell her, Jo. That’s just the way these things work. You tell her you like her and then you guys kiss. There. Happy ending." 

Josie looked up and shook her head, “We’ve done that already, which if you don’t remember, you cockblocked, and it’s not that easy.”

MG look at her incredulously, “Um, it kind of is.” 

“But what if she doesn’t feel the same way? Then what?” Josie could see the scenario play out in her head like it has a hundred times before. “I’m gonna confess my undying love for her and then she’s just gonna stare at me blankly and try to find the best way to let me down without hurting my feelings, never without trying to not hurt me, cause that’s just how Penelope is, and then it’s going to be awkward and she’s gonna leave me cause I made it awkward between us and then I won’t be able to see her again-.” 

MG put his hand over hers and tried to comfort his hyperventilating friend, “Breathe, Jo, breathe.” 

“What if she leaves me?” she looked up exasperated. She couldn’t even imagine it.  

MG couldn’t take the devastated look on the girl’s face, “She’s not gonna leave you. One look at that girl tells me that she loves you. It might not be in the same way that you do, but anyone with eyes knows she loves you.” 

“I can’t tell her. I just can’t.” 

“And that’s okay. There’s other ways to show her how you feel,” MG reassured.  

Josie looked up in question, urging him to continue.  

MG gave her a devilish smirk, “Seduce her.” 

Josie was gobsmacked, “Seduce her? Would that even work?”  

“Of course! Even Satan herself can’t resist a Saltzman’s sexual temptation.” 

“I don’t know. Can I even pull off _sexy_?” Josie was skeptical. She could not be sexy for the life of her. Her chubby cheeks and doe-eyes were deemed more adorable than anything. Sexy and hot was more of her sister’s forte. And knowing Penelope, of course she would want a sexy girlfriend to match her vibe.  

MG shook his head and patted the girl on her back, “seducing doesn’t necessarily mean sexy, Jo. It’s more about intimacy and teasing. Kissing her close to her lips without touching them, lingering touches, heavy stares. It’s about making her want you just as much as you want her.” 

Josie still looked skeptical, “So kiss her close to her lips, lingering touches, and heavy stares. Do you think that’s enough?” 

MG chuckled and gave the girl a reassuring smile, “More than enough, trust me.” 

“Can you teach me?” Josie asked. She was determined to master the art of seduction 

“Teach you how to seduce Penelope Park? Would be my pleasure.” 

 

\---

 

Out of all the days of the week, Thursday was her absolute favorite.  

Nothing bad ever happened on a Thursday and it was the only time of the week she felt truly weightless. She didn’t have to worry about her daily witch lessons from her aristocratic mother, or pretending to enjoy weekend alcohol-loaded parties at some rich kid’s house. She used to spend Thursdays holed up alone in her room, pages deep in a good novel. She could finally take a breather and escape the demands of being a powerful witch in New Orleans.  

Now though, on Thursdays, she spends it with Josie. And it’s a bit different from what she used to do in New Orleans, but she loves it just the same, in a different (perhaps slightly better) way.  

This Thursday, however, she doesn’t spend it with Josie, and she can’t help but feel that sinking feeling in her chest. She hates feeling this clingy, so dependent on someone else, but she can’t help it. It also hurts when said someone else has been ignoring/avoiding her for the past few days. Said someone else also happens to be mad at Penelope, about what, she has no idea. The brown-eyed girls outburst after the wickery game confused the hell out of Penelope. She chalked the outburst up to Josie being irritated by her stubborn probing and making her feel uncomfortable. _I probably embarrassed her_ , she thought, making note to be more respectful in the future. 

She was on a mission to clean the slate with the girl, to mend the issue, but mostly because she couldn’t stand to be away from the girl for long. She misses her.  

She was walking around the hallways aimlessly, brainstorming for a plan to get back on the siphoner’s good side, when she spotted Hope in the distance.  

“Mikaelson! It’s been a while.” she greeted.   

“Sorry Park, I’ve been swarmed with pageant stuff. Who knew escorts needed to know so much?” Hope complained. 

“Hey, you’re the one that volunteered, right?” Penelope joked.  

“Yeah, you’re right. I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Hope dropped her gaze and blushed at the thought of Josie.  

Penelope watched her friend with a bittersweet look on her face, “You look happy.” 

“I am,” Hope grinned bashfully, “I’m finally getting my shot.” 

Penelope slung her arm around the girl’s shoulder and ruffled her hair a bit, “I’m so happy for you. There’s no one more perfect for you than her,” she said sincerely.  

“I don’t want to mess this up, P. The pageant is in just a few days, I’m freaking out. I want this to be perfect for her. I know how much winning this thing means to her,” Hope rambled, “What if I mess this up like I do everything else in my life??” 

Penelope hated seeing Hope so anxiety-stricken. Anybody would be lucky to have Hope escort them. Even Josie Saltzman. As the girl’s best friend, it was her job to make sure Hope was reminded of that.  

“Stop fussing about it so much. You’re gonna be the best escort for her and she’s gonna fall in love with you. And then, you’ll get the happy ending you deserve. No one’s gonna take this moment away from you, Hope. You’re gonna do great!”  

Hope looked up at Penelope with a small smile and shook her head, “Why are you so good at this?” 

“At what? Speaking the truth?” Penelope grinned.  

Hope shook her head, “You’re such an idiot, P.” 

“But you love me.”

“Sure,” Hope grinned, head perking up when she remembered something, “You coming to the party tonight?”

Penelope raised her eyebrow curiously, “What party?”

“Josie’s Celebratory Party in the woods. It’s a bit last minute but everyone’s going.”

“Josie’s Celebratory what?” Penelope was bewildered, “for what?”

“Josie’s managed to convince Alaric to add some offensive spells to lessons. Haven’t you been working with her on it? She hasn’t told you yet?”

Penelope was shocked and a bit hurt if she was being honest. _Why hadn’t she told me_ , she thought. “I guess, she just forgot or something.” 

“Well, know you know and you better come!” Hope urged.  

Penelope unwrapped her arm from Hope’s shoulder and shrugged with a smirk, backing away slowly, “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.” 

“Whatever, P!” Hope rebutted, turning around and waving the girl bye as she disappeared into the hallway.  

Penelope felt her shoulders and smirk drop. She was so hurt that the girl hadn’t told her about when happened. Even after everything they went through together. She remembers that the girl is still avoiding her and she feels numb.  

If she wasn’t going to be invited by the girl herself, she wasn’t going to go. Honestly, she just wants to be alone, coped up in her room with a good book in her hand. 

 

\-- 

 

Josie was getting worried.  

_She should be here by now_ , Josie bit her lip nervously and looked down at her watch impatiently. She’d spent the last 20 minutes hanging around the front of the Old Mill, waiting for Penelope to arrive to the party.  

She had no hand in planning the party. Once word got out about Josie and Dr. Saltzman’s meeting this morning (thanks to MG’s big mouth), someone had pitched an idea for a celebratory party at the mill and of course, everyone got excited. Now there’s a whole ass party in her honor and she should be ecstatic, but she’s not.  

Josie looked out at the dark woods, searching for even the slightest hint of movement. _She should be here by now,_ Josie thought, looking down at her watch for the millionth time this night. It’s been about 3 hours into the party and Penelope was nowhere to be found.  

Embarrassment aside, she’d been waiting to see the girl since she left MG’s room with a refreshed mindset. She learned the ways of seduction (thanks to MG) and was waiting for the opportunity to use it. She was dressed appropriately, a short yellow summer dress (a complete contrast from the little black dress she wore to the first party with the raven-haired witch). According to MG, she had to play to her strengths and nothing complimented her adorable nature more than an equally adorable summer dress. She was going for the “sinfully innocent” look and was pulling it off well judging by the numerous dance and drink offers from random people earlier.  

The only one she wanted to dance with was Penelope. But she wasn’t even here. 

Josie’s shoulders deflated in disappointment. She wondered why the girl didn’t come. Hope said she had told her about the party earlier. _Maybe she knows I was avoiding her?_

Josie deflates even more if that’s possible. She begrudgingly made her way further into the party, drowning herself in the crowd and her drink. 

 

\----

 

Penelope wasn’t enjoying her Thursday night.  

She groaned as she placed the book in her lap on her bedside table and rubbed her eyes in frustration. This was the fifth time this night that she had to stop reading because for some reason, she just couldn’t focus. 

Something was bothering her, like an itch she can’t reach. Like always, that something was a beautiful doe-eyed siphoner with the unique ability to turn Penelope’s insides out.  

She grabbed her throw pillow and smashed it to her face to muffle her groan. _Why hadn’t she told her?_ Maybe it was a bit conceited of her, but she genuinely thought she would be the first person Josie would tell. _I mean, I was the one to help her,_ she argued. 

She looks at her alarm clock beside her bed and sighed when she realized how late it was. She regrets not going to the party now, craving a drink or three to drown her incessant thoughts. 

She was about to call it a night until she heard a pair of soft knocks on her door.  

Penelope scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, reluctantly getting up to answer the door. 

She was surprised to find a slightly buzzed Josie Saltzman with a bottle of wine and two red plastic cups in her hands. 

“There you are!” Josie grinned.  

“Josie? Why aren’t you at the party?” 

“I was looking for you everywhere,” she exasperated. She pushed past a rigid Penelope and plopped herself on the bed, placing the cups down on the bedside table. 

“You’ve been avoiding me.” 

Josie waved her off, “That was before. Now I’m not. Why weren’t you at the party?” With much effort, she managed to get the cork out of the wine bottle and poured a little too much into both cups. 

Penelope closed her door with a heavy sigh and made her way over to the girl. She carefully sat next to the girl and put the cup she had raised to her lips down, earning her a pout.  

“We talked about this, JoJo. You can’t just avoid me anytime it feels convenient.” When she saw that Josie wasn’t looking at her, opting to hide behind her long brown hair, she brushed it behind her ear to look into her eyes and rested her palm on her rosy cheeks. “You can tell me anything, you know that,” she said softly, rubbing her cold thumb against her warm cheeks. 

 “I know.” 

“Then why were you avoiding me?” When she only got a small shrug in return, she let out a small sigh. “Nothing you say or do will make me think any less of you, Josie.” 

Penelope dropped her hand from her cheek and held the girl’s hand in her lap for reassurance.  

“I’m sorry I got mad at you after the game. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”  

“There’s nothing wrong with you and I’m sorry for being so stubborn. You said to stop and I didn’t.” 

“It’s fine, I shouldn’t have overreacted,” Josie admitted meekly.  

“You don’t have to apologize for anything.”

Josie gave her an incredulous look and shoved the girl playfully, “Just shut up and accept it, Jerk.” 

Penelope winced playfully and wrapped the girl in her arms, “Fine asshole, I accept it.” 

Josie smiled into the hug, reveling in the small show of affection. She tightened her hold around the girl before suddenly pulling her back at a particular reminder. “Why weren’t you at my party? I was waiting for you.” 

A bit disgruntled by the sudden lack of contact, Penelope was confused, “Waiting for you? You didn’t even invite me.” She dropped her hands from around the girl. “You didn’t even tell me about the meeting with your dad.” 

Despite attempting to not make a big deal about it, she couldn’t hide the hurt she felt at the fact that Josie hadn’t shared it with her. It burned like a knot stuck in her throat and above all, she was just genuinely curious as to why the girl hadn’t confided in her. Had she not been there for the girl every step of the way? Had she misread their close connection? 

“I didn’t tell you because I was too embarrassed to face you. I swear I only act like this with you,” Josie spit out. She hadn’t meant to spill that last part, but she blamed it on the alcohol.  

“Josie,” Penelope said sternly, making sure she had eye contact, “you never have to be embarrassed around me. You could literally do anything and I’ll still love your dorky ass.”  

Josie perked up, “You love me?”  

“Of course I do, you’re my best friend.” 

Josie deflated a bit at that last part, but she was overjoyed nonetheless. She hugged the girl’s side closely and smiled against her neck. “I love you, too.” _A little too much._  

Penelope looked down at the girl against her neck with affection. When Josie pulled back, she immediately reached for both of the drinks and handed one to the witch. “Let’s celebrate the solidification of our love,” she grinned as she lifted her cup up.  

Penelope shook her head in disbelief, “Again, you’re a dorky ass.” She lifted her cup up anyway, “To successfully persuading your dad.” She gave the girl a sly smile, “and to our everlasting love.”  

They clinked their cups and brought the cups to their lips without taking their eyes off each other.  

The rest of the night was spent making many more cheers until the wine bottle was less than half filled. They were both lying on their backs on the bed, sides pressed against each other, when an idea popped into Josie’s head. She jumped up to her feet and reached her hand out to the girl.  

“Dance with me.”  

When Penelope barely nudged, Josie let out a groan. “Get up, fat ass.” 

“Yeah, I really do have a fat ass,” Penelope snickered cockly.  

Josie groaned loudly ( _even though she was spot on_ ) and pulled on the girl’s hands, “Please? I’m nervous about the pageant and I need more practice.” 

Penelope reluctantly stood up, thanks to the girl’s incessant pulling, but made no effort to move closer. “You practice with Hope every Tuesday and Wednesday. You get enough practice,” she crossed her arms. 

Josie unraveled her arms by pulling on her hands and pulled the girl closer, “Please? I want to practice with you,” she whined. 

“Will you stop pulling me if I do?”

Josie smirked in victory, pulling the girl against her body and placing one hand in the girl’s hand and her other on her shoulder.  

Penelope felt a sudden warmth on her shoulder, realizing that Josie was siphoning magic from her. She watched as Josie flicked her hand at her vintage record player and muttered a quiet incantation. Music fitting to the mood danced around the room and they both started to sway slowly.  

Josie tightened her hold against the girl and lost herself in those emerald eyes. When she stepped on Penelope’s toes, she cringed apologetically, “See! I told you I needed practice.”  

Penelope crinkled her nose and chuckled, “My toes are fine and you’re doing great.” 

Josie scoffed, “Yeah, no. I’m definitely going to mess this up. I feel so bad for Hope.” 

Penelope could see the worry on the girl face, “Stop pouting! You’re going to do great.” 

“I don’t know.”

“Have some confidence,” Penelope said, pulling the girl closer without realizing, “I know without a doubt you’re gonna win. How could you not?”

“Have you seen my competition? One being Lizzie herself!” 

Penelope could see the insecurity begin to ooze out of the girl and she couldn’t have that. “Stop downplaying yourself. I promise you’re going to look absolutely stunning,” she assured, feeling her guard go down with the alcohol in her system. “You’re going to look as beautiful as you do now,” she whispered, “There’s no chance the judges wouldn’t pick you.”

Josie felt her heart burst and hid her blushing face into the girl’s neck. Penelope rubbed her back with the hand that was on her hip to comfort her. “So stop worrying. You’re gonna do great.”

A flurry of emotions welled up in Josie and she couldn’t stop herself from planting an open kiss against her delicate collarbone. She felt her shiver against the touch and soon, one kiss became two and another, slowly making her way up her neck. Penelope tightened her hold in response, totally consumed by the feel of the girl’s lips on her skin. Her brain was muddled and the alcohol was no help. “Wha-what are you doing?” she croaked out.  

Josie didn’t bother replying, too overwhelmed with the fact that she was finally kissing her skin. When she reached her jaw, she playfully bit her there, and whispered, “What do you think?” 

Penelope groaned silently, feeling her entire being on fire with desire. She whimpered softly when she felt the girl’s lips leave her skin as she pulled away a bit to look in her eyes. Penelope almost moaned at the look on the girl’s face. Hooded chocolate eyes and pouty lips. _God_ , Penelope doesn’t think she’s been more turned on in her life.  

“Kiss me,” she whispered, moving closer till the tips of their noses were almost touching.  

Penelope could hear the desire in her voice and shivered, “We can’t.” 

“Why not?” She planted a slow open kiss on her cheek, as close to her lips without touching them.  

Penelope was about to answer, but lost her train of thought. There was nothing but Josie Saltzman on her mind. Kissing her, holding her, every guilty fantasy she ever had about the girl. She wanted more than anything to close the distance and to hell with whatever reservation she ever had about being with Josie Saltzman. But she couldn’t.  

“Please kiss me,” Josie whispered desperately and it was like a dam broke inside Penelope. To hell with boundaries, all the feelings she bottled up were overflowing and she cupped her jaw with both hands and pushed their lips together passionately. 

Josie gasped at the action, returning the kiss with the same enthusiasm. It’s like they couldn’t get enough of each other. Hands were gripping anything they could find. Penelope let go of her face and wrapped her arms around the girl’s waist, pulling her impossibly closer. 

Josie gasped when Penelope bit her lip and pulled. The raven-haired witch smirked, finding a cursing Josie so incredibly hot. Something must have triggered Josie because she twisted them around and pushed her down on the bed. She leaned up on her elbows, breath heavy as she watched Josie sexily take her shirt off, her half naked torso on display.  

Penelope was completely enraptured. Just the sight of her exposed skin made her breath stop short. She had never seen anything more beautiful. “You’re so beautiful,” she said in reverence. 

Josie didn’t give her time to act, climbing onto her lap and cupping her face with her hands. She planted a soft open kiss onto her lips and slowly made her way down her neck. She made sure to pay special attention to the girl’s weak spot, loving the way Penelope squeezed her waist every time she did. She couldn’t get enough of the taste of Penelope’s skin, the smell of evergreen and mint lingering on it. 

She moved her hands to the end of the girl’s shirt, lifting it a bit to reveal smooth tanned skin.  

“Josie,” Penelope warned weakly.  

“Please? I want to feel you.”

“We shouldn’t,” Penelope pleaded. She wouldn’t be able to stop if they continued. She thought about all the reasons why they shouldn’t go where they’re headed. And then she thought of Hope for the first time that night. Hope, who was there for her during her darkest moments. Hope, who she owed everything to. And suddenly, the daze she was in faded away. 

“I’m sorry, we can’t,” she whispered, grabbing both of Josie’s hands in her own. She watched as Josie gave her a pout. Penelope gave her a small smile, kissing the corners of her mouth, “Stop pouting, please.” 

“But I wanna kiss you some more,” Josie explained, leaning in for another kiss. 

Penelope dodged the kiss and instead planted a short sweet one on her nose, making the siphoner crinkle her nose in disappointment. “We should go to sleep. It’s pretty late and I don’t want your hangover to be worse in the morning.” 

Josie groaned at that reminder, throwing her arms around her shoulders and pulling her down on the bed so they were laying on their sides, facing each other. “One more kiss,” she bit her lip and waited with hooded eyes.  

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“Just one, I promise,” she whispered, already moving her face closer to the other girl’s.  

Penelope could feel the girl’s breath on her lips, and while it smelled a bit like alcohol, she couldn’t help but drink it in. She pushed their lips together, intending for a chaste kiss, but the other girl had other ideas.  

She felt Josie slip her tongue into her mouth and pushed her shoulder back until Josie had Penelope on her back. Josie placed her hands on both sides of the witch’s head, caging the girl beneath her. When she let out an involuntary moan, Penelope pushed the girl back and off of her.

“Hey!” 

“Josie, I said one kiss!”

“That was one kiss!” 

Penelope groaned into her hands, turned on beyond belief but with her integrity still (barely) intact. “I should go,” she resolved, getting up to get off the bed before feeling incessant hands pulling her back.

“Wait, I’m sorry! I promise I won’t kiss you again,” Josie said, wanting nothing more in the world than for the girl to stay.  

“It’s okay,” Penelope said, leaning down to kiss her goodnight on her forehead, “don’t worry about it. Sleep here. I’m gonna see if Dav’s got a spare bed.”

Josie got up immediately at the mention of the witch, “Don’t go! I’m sorry, I promise I’ll stop. Just stay here.” 

Penelope looked back into her brown eyes, seeing the panic in them. She let out a heavy sigh, hating how dependent she was on Josie and her happiness. She knew she put herself in this situation. She shouldn’t have drank alone with her. She shouldn’t have danced with her. She shouldn’t have told her she was beautiful. And she really shouldn’t have kissed her. She was taking advantage of the girl while she was vulnerable, and that was all the more reason why she didn’t deserve to be around Josie Saltzman.  

“Please. I sleep better with you,” Josie confided. The thought of Penelope and Davina sleeping in the same room, possibly on the same bed, ate away at her. It scared her how possessive she was of the girl, but she couldn’t help how she felt.  

Penelope gave her a long look before letting out a sigh and grabbing Josie’s shirt from the ground, “Fine, but put this on. And no more funny business!” 

Josie was relieved, grabbing the shirt and throwing it on before getting comfortable on the bed, “I promise no funny business.” 

Penelope got up to turn off the bedside lamp and then got comfortable on the bed beside the girl. Josie immediately curled into her chest, burying into the witch’s warm neck. Without thinking about it, she placed a small kiss under her collarbone which earned her a hiss from Penelope.  

 

“ _Josie_ ,” she warned. 

 

Josie tightened her hold against the girl, scared she’d leave her for real this time. It felt so natural to do so, she didn’t realize she kissed her until she felt Penelope shiver under her lips.  

Penelope sighed, too tired to do anything about it. 

 

“I love you,” Josie whispered. 

 

Penelope buried her face into her hair, too tired to say anything but, “I love you, too,” before closing her eyes and dreaming of a world where she didn’t feel this way about her best friend. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...
> 
> I'm sorry. The frustration is gonna get worse before it gets better. Also just a disclaimer, I haven't started CH 13 yet so it might take some time. 
> 
> For those Hosie and Hope stans, I'm so sorry. I actually ship Hosie (not that you can tell from this fic) and didn't intend for Hope to get so much shit in this story. I didn't think the plot through when I first started and it's starting to show. Please forgive my terrible plot writing and just know I'll try my best to give Hope a happy ending. 
> 
> Side note: Anyone ready for tomorrow???


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